Twin Buttes Reservoir 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 about southwest of the city of

San Angelo San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert to the southwest, Osage Plai ...

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 ...

, and immediately upstream from

Lake Nasworthy Lake Nasworthy is a small municipal lake located in San Angelo, Texas. The lake is named for John R. Nasworthy, who sold the land where the lake is located to the city. The lake was built by West Texas Utilities Company in 1930 to provide municipal ...

. Construction on Twin Buttes Dam to form the

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 ...

was completed in 1963. The dam is an unusual one – it dams the Middle and South Concho Rivers separately; a stabilization channel runs between the two sides of the lake. Water levels fell significantly during the 2010–13 Southern United States drought and remained low into 2014.

Functions

Twin Buttes Reservoir was established to provide

flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

water conservation Water conservation includes all the policies, strategies and activities to sustainably manage the natural resource of fresh water, to protect the hydrosphere, and to meet the current and future human demand (thus avoiding water scarcity). Populati ...

, and a primary

drinking water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...

source for San Angelo and the surrounding communities in Tom Green County. The lake also serves as a recreational venue for fishing, boating, and swimming. The dam and reservoir are owned by the

United States Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...

, and are managed by the City of San Angelo.

Design

The Twin Buttes Reservoir has two dams, one on the Middle Concho River and the South Concho River. The length of these two rolled earthfill embankments is approximately 42,000 ft with an elevation of just under 2,000 ft above sea level; however, the water level is an average of 1,985 ft above sea level.

Fish populations

Twin Buttes 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

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 ...

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, ...

, and

crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxis'' ...

Vegetation

Three invasive species of vegetation have taken over the land around the reservoir. Along the shoreline is dense saltceder and it grows thick with approximately 3,000 stems per acre. Willow baccharis and Mesquite both grow densely throughout the offshore areas.

References

External links

Twin Buttes Reservoir (blog)
1963 establishments in Texas Protected areas of Tom Green County, Texas Reservoirs in Texas Dams in Texas United States Bureau of Reclamation dams Dams completed in 1963 Bodies of water of Tom Green County, Texas {{TomGreenCountyTX-geo-stub