Lake Conroe was originally created as an alternative water supply for the City of Houston in early 1973 by the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA); it was through a joint partnership with the city of Houston as the state was concerned about having an alternative water supply during long periods of drought as early as the 1950’s. The construction of Lake Conroe was about a 5 year project as work started in 1968 and was finally competed in January 1973. The dam of Lake Conroe is located on the lakes South shore along Hwy 105 about 7 miles West of Interstate 45 in Conroe.
According to the SJRA, As of September of 2009 after years of negotiations, the SJRA completed a contract with the City of Houston to purchase the right to use the City’s 2/3 rd’s share of the water in Lake Conroe. This acquisition was very important for Montgomery County as it makes all the water within Lake Conroe available for Montgomery County users, although it’s not expected to be needed until approx 2025. SJRA has also been working with the Trinity River Authority to preserve rights to additional water from the Trinity river when/if needed going into the future. These are all very important issues for residents of Lake Conroe and Montgomery County as the economy and population continues to grow. Lake Conroe typically releases anywhere from 7 to 8 feet of surface acres of water downstream (under normal rain seasons) though in 2010 and 2011 there was virtually no release do to the unrecorded drought that swept across Texas.
Lake Conroe’s surface Encompass’s over 21,000 surface acres, the lake lies on the West Fork of the San Jacinto River and is surrounded by the Piney Woods Forests so well known for East Texas. Water quality in Lake Conroe is generally is good, and fairly clear. The acreage depth of Lake Conroe is about 20 feet, with the main channel going through the middle of the lake at about 75-80’ deep. Lake Conroe extends about 21 miles from South to North, and is about 6 miles wide at its widest point, while the lakes capacity is over 430,000 acre feet. One statistic about Lake Conroe that I still find amazing is that the lake was completed January 1973 and it was filled by October of that same year!
To find out more facts and history about Lake Conroe please feel free to contact me and I will be glad to help.
Kindly, Ray Faragher