Fayette County Reservoir is a

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...

cooling

reservoir 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 ...

on Cedar Creek in the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

basin, 3 miles west of

Fayetteville, Texas Fayetteville is a city in Fayette County, Texas. The population was 246 at the 2020 census. History The town is located in an area that was originally granted to Alex Thompson and George Cumberland. Fayetteville's first immigrant settlers were ...

and 10 miles east of La Grange,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. The reservoir was created in 1978 when a dam was built on the creek to provide a cooling pond for the

Fayette Power Project The Fayette Power Project, also known as Sam Seymour Power Plant, is a coal-fired power plant located near La Grange, Texas in Fayette County, Texas. It is owned by Austin Energy and the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and operated by LCRA ...

which provides

electrical Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

generation to Fayette County and surrounding areas. The dam, lake, and power plant are managed by the

Lower Colorado River Authority The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) is a nonprofit public utility created in November 1934 by the Texas Legislature. LCRA's mission is to enhance the lives of the Texans it serves through water stewardship, energy and community service. LC ...

. The lake is also used for recreational purposes, especially

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

. Fayette County Reservoir is also known as Lake Fayette.

Fish and plant populations

Fayette County Reservoir has been stocked with species of fish intended to improve the utility of the reservoir for recreational fishing. Fish present in Fayette County Reservoir include

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 ...

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, bu ...

, and sunfish.

Recreational uses

Boating and

are both popular recreational uses of the lake. There is also a playground, a 3 mile trail connecting Oak Thicket Park and Park Prairie Park, and a nature trail in Oak Thicket Park. Lake Fayette used to be the site of a small town called Biegel which was famous for its pickles. Outlines of houses may be visible on fish finders.

External links

Fayette County Reservoir - Texas Parks & WildlifeLower Colorado River Authority
{{authority control Fayette County Protected areas of Fayette County, Texas Lower Colorado River Authority Bodies of water of Fayette County, Texas Cooling ponds