Richland-Chambers Reservoir is the third largest inland

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 ...

by surface area and the 8th largest reservoir by water volume in

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 ...

formed by the impoundment of Richland Creek and Chambers Creek east-southeast of the town of Corsicana and south of Kerens, in Navarro County and Freestone County,

, USA. It has of shoreline and is "Y" shaped with the dam on the eastern end of the lake.

History

Due to a drought in 1956-1957 plans were made by the Tarrant Regional Water District to build the Richland-Chambers Reservoir with the purpose of being a public water source for

Tarrant County Tarrant County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2020, it had a population of 2,110,640. It is Texas' third-most populous county and the 15th-most populous in the United States. Its county seat is Fort Worth. Tarrant County, one of 2 ...

. The plan called for a reservoir to be built along with a pipeline between Richland-Chambers and Lake Benbrook. However, no actions were taken until October 1, 1979 when the water district issued $342.75 million in revenue bonds for construction. The project was designed and engineered by Freese and Nichols, Consulting Engineers, of Fort Worth, Texas. Bill Johnson and a team, from Buce and Gunn, provided the necessary topography and surveying, for the project. Construction began on October 7, 1982. The dam was closed on Richland-Chambers Reservoir July 1987 and filled by May 1989. On November 12, 1988 the Richland-Chambers pipeline became operational.Tarrant Regional Water District History Timeline
Accessed 2009-04-11 In 1999 a wetlands project was launched for the purpose of reusing Trinity River water by filtering a portion of the river through wetlands and then into the Richland-Chambers Reservoir. Initially a demonstration project, this has proved successful and is moving into a larger phase. Due to this additional water, plans are in place to build an additional pipeline between the reservoir and Tarrant County.Draft Memorandum Water Management Strategies for Tarrant Regional Water District
Accessed 2009-04-12

Water rights

The reservoir was built by the Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) who retains most of the water rights. TRWD is a water wholesaler to 11 counties in Texas. This water is pumped from Richland-Chambers via a pipeline to balancing reservoirs and on to Lake Benbrook for storage before moving to the water treatment plants or

Eagle Mountain Lake Eagle Mountain Lake is a reservoir in North Texas, formed by the damming the West Fork of the Trinity River. The reservoir sits below Lake Bridgeport reservoir and above Lake Worth reservoir. History The Texas State Board of Water Engineers gr ...

.Tarrant regional water district’s risk management plan for prestressed concrete cylinder pipe
Accessed 2009-04-12 The City of Corsicana holds the rights to of water each year with the option to purchase more. This water is not currently being drawn but a pipeline is being built (2008) to Corsicana for that purpose.
Accessed 2009-04-12

Fish and plant life

Predominant fish species on Richland-Chambers Reservoir include: *

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

hybrid striped bass A hybrid striped bass, also known as a wiper or whiterock bass, is a hybrid between the striped bass (''Morone saxatilis'') and the white bass (''M. chrysops''). It can be distinguished from the striped bass by broken rather than solid horizont ...

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

& channel catfish *

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 ...

* Crappie *

Smallmouth buffalo The smallmouth buffalo (''Ictiobus bubalus'', from the Greek for "bull-fish" and "buffalo") is a catostomid fish species native to the major tributaries and surrounding waters of the Mississippi River in the United States, as well as some other ...

* Carp The lake has been stocked with Coppernose bluegill,

Florida bass The Florida bass (''Micropterus floridanus'') is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a black bass belonging to the sunfish family (biology), family Centrarchidae of order (biology), order Perciformes. It is found in the southeastern United St ...

, channel catfish and blue catfish. In the first decade, the lake was noted for largemouth bass tournaments, with typical stringers of 35 lbs. Over the last decade, multiple droughts have diminished the stringer catch to about 25 lbs. The lake is no longer considered as a top bass fishing lake. The old Trinity River levee forms a crescent-shaped underwater structure between the confluence of the Richland and Chambers creek arms and the dam and is good for fishing.

Recreational uses

Although its primary purpose is as a water supply reservoir, Richland-Chambers Reservoir is a venue for outdoor recreation, including fishing, boating, and swimming. As it's still a relatively new lake, the traffic level is low and land for lakeside housing is plentiful. The Harbor Inn Restaurant & Club, sitting on the banks of the lake adjacent to Northshore Harbor Condominiums, provide a restaurant and bar for visitors of the lake. There are a number of sites to launch boats.

Public access areas

Primary access if via

US 287 U.S. Route 287 (US 287) is a north–south (physically northwest–southeast) United States highway. At long, it is the second longest three-digit U.S. Route, behind US 281. It serves as the major truck route between Fort Worth and A ...

with access areas of:Access to Richland-Chambers Reservoir
Accessed 2009-04-11 *Northshore Harbor * Cedar Creek *Chambers Creek Marina *FM 2859 Crossing *Cheneyboro Ramp *Crab Creek *Midway Landing *Oak Cove Marina *Old Hwy 287 Launch (closed in 2017) *Highway 309 Park *Fisherman's Point

References

External links

Richland Chambers – Texas Parks & Wildlife
{{authority control Protected areas of Freestone County, Texas Reservoirs in Texas Protected areas of Navarro County, Texas Bodies of water of Freestone County, Texas Bodies of water of Navarro County, Texas