E.V. Spence Reservoir (also known as Lake E.V. Spence) is an

artificial lake A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

located west of (and upstream from) the town of Robert Lee,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. The reservoir was impounded by the creation of Robert Lee Dam in 1969, with the support of the

Upper Colorado River Authority The Upper Colorado River Authority or UCRA was created in 1935 by the Texas Legislature as a quasi-governmental entity to manage the Colorado River as a water resource in Tom Green County and Coke County, Texas. The authority has since been ext ...

, to provide a reliable

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

for Robert Lee and the surrounding communities in Coke County. The lake also serves as a recreational venue for fishing, boating, and swimming. Robert Lee Dam is managed by the

Colorado River Municipal Water District Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

Fish populations

E.V. Spence Reservoir has been stocked with species of fish intended to improve the utility of the reservoir for recreational fishing. Fish present in the lake include

striped bass The striped bass (''Morone saxatilis''), also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has al ...

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, but ...

white bass The white bass, silver bass, or sand bass (''Morone chrysops'') is a freshwater fish of the temperate bass family Moronidae. commonly around 12-15 inches long. The species' main color is silver-white to pale green. Its back is dark, with white s ...

, and

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

Severe drought

In July 2011, the reservoir's level had sunk to less than 0.76% full — effectively dry. Severe drought conditions and record summer high temperatures in the area caused the Colorado River Municipal Water District to stop any further water withdrawals from

Midland, Texas Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States. A small part of Midland is in Martin County. At the 2020 census, Midland's population was 132,524. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas metropolitan ...

and surrounding communities. If the reservoir empties, the formerly reliable water source from the reservoir will need to be supplanted by trucking in water from other sources to supply the town of Robert Lee. By September 2012, the lake reached its lowest level of 0.19% full, less than 1,000 acre-feet of storage, and an elevation of 1810.14 ft above datum, which was 87.86 feet below full. The lake would recover rapidly to nearly 6% capacity after a major rain event in September 2012. As of May 2015, the lake was 4.4% of capacity, up from 2% in May 2014. As of August 2, 2019, the lake was at 30.5% capacity.

References

Reservoirs in Texas Colorado River (Texas) Dams in Texas United States local public utility dams Bodies of water of Coke County, Texas 1969 establishments in Texas Protected areas of Coke County, Texas {{CokeCountyTX-geo-stub