North Lake is a

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 contr ...

located in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, southeast of Coppell. North Lake Park is on its southern side.

History

The lake area was once a large bowl-like valley that was used for farming. Construction on North Lake Dam began in 1956 and the dam was complete in August 1957. Many of the trees where the lake was to be built were cut down, although a few small structures still exist. The reservoir was designed as a cooling reservoir for a Dallas Power and Light Company electric power plant. At that time, the City of

annexed the land around the power plant and the lake. In 1978, the lake began to be used for fishing as well. Fish did not survive well due to low nutrient levels, so in 1978 the Dallas Parks and Recreation Department began fertilizing the water and stocking it with

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

. The City of

Irving, Texas Irving is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. Located in Dallas County, it is also an inner ring suburb of Dallas. The city of Irving is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. According to a 2019 estimate from the United States Census Bureau ...

leased land south of the lake as a park in the 1980s and 1990s. North Lake Park was popular with

personal watercraft A personal watercraft (PWC), also called water scooter or jet ski, is a recreational watercraft that a rider sits or stands on, not within, as in a boat. PWCs have two style categories, first and most popular being a runabout or "sit down" whe ...

enthusiasts and provided a runway for

radio-controlled aircraft A radio-controlled aircraft (often called RC aircraft or RC plane) is a small flying machine that is controlled remotely by an operator on the ground using a hand-held radio transmitter. The transmitter continuously communicates with a receiver ...

. The owner of the lake, power company TXU, turned down offers in 2000 to sell the land to the cities of

Coppell, Texas Coppell ( ) is a city in the northwest corner of Dallas County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is a suburb of Dallas and a bedroom community in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its population was 42,983 at the 2020 census. A small area in t ...

. Irving and Coppell were not willing to fund permanent facilities for the park as TXU granted access to the land only on a short-term lease. The park closed in 2000, ending all recreational use of the lake. The lake was thought to be closed because of a high concentration of

amoeba An amoeba (; less commonly spelled ameba or amœba; plural ''am(o)ebas'' or ''am(o)ebae'' ), often called an amoeboid, is a type of cell or unicellular organism with the ability to alter its shape, primarily by extending and retracting pseudop ...

s from the temperature of the plant's water output. A small dock and personal watercraft holding area were present in the fifth cove down.

Development Controversy

The Billingsley Company, a Texas land developer, purchased land south of the lake in 2004. Lucy Billingsley, daughter of

Trammell Crow Fred Trammell Crow (June 10, 1914 – January 14, 2009) was an American real estate developer from Dallas, Texas. He is credited with the creation of several major real estate projects, including the Dallas Market Center, Peachtree Center in Atla ...

, announced her intention to build up to 10,000 living units on the land. The area is officially in the city of

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

but is part of the Coppell Independent School District. Officials in

and

strongly opposed the plan due to increased automobile traffic and the costs of building and maintaining new schools. After three years of litigation, the parties reached a settlement in 2008 that will allow development on the land.http://www.ci.coppell.tx.us/c2/content.nsf/site/4%3BDepartments%20and%20Services%3BCity%20Manager's%20Office%3B%3BNorth%20Lake%20Development?opendocument Coppell residents approved a bond measure in 2007, part of which would be used to fund the construction of new schools. The

Subprime mortgage crisis The United States subprime mortgage crisis was a multinational financial crisis that occurred between 2007 and 2010 that contributed to the 2007–2008 global financial crisis. It was triggered by a large decline in US home prices after the col ...

will likely postpone Billingsley's plans to develop the land until 2013. The lake is slowly being drained to about 13 feet deep, and the lake will be dredged as well as altered to meet the plan requirements if it is approved. Currently, the trees around the lake are being cut down.

Dam and reservoir

North Lake has an

embankment dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface an ...

, which overflows to a chute spillway. The dam had a leak in the North-east part of the dam, which was later patched. Coppell is lowering the water level, which will permanently stay at about 13 feet after 2012. Behind the dam is a low swamp area and a new residential development zone.

Islands and water

Several islands are located on the lake, however, most of them are submerged at the regular pool level. The largest island, which is above water, has a

shoreline A shore or a shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In physical oceanography, a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past a ...

of about 325 feet. The bottom of the lake is generally sandy, with some occasional mud. When the park was opened, a large floating water ski ramp was placed in the center of the lake. Several no-ski

buoys A buoy () is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. Types Navigational buoys * Race course marker buoys are used for buoy racing, the most prevalent form of yac ...

were placed in the south-west cove because the shallow depth of the cove presented a safety hazard. Some vegetation has been known to be present, although not enough to sustain fish. Coontail ( Ceratophyllum demersum) was present at one time, but the sandy bottom made it hard for it to survive. The lake is fed by rain and run-off through the shallow valleys, but mostly by Grapevine Creek, a small stream nearly always flowing into the lake. The stream is located in the south-western cove. The only boat ramp on the lake is on a small road facing Belt Line Rd. The boat ramp had to be discontinued because of the uneven surface of ground it was on and the unstable ground around it.

References

External links