North Lake is a

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

located in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, southeast of Coppell. The Cypress Waters business and residential development 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 Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

. The City of

Irving, Texas Irving is a city in Dallas County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and is an Inner suburb, inner city suburb of Dallas. Irving is noted for its #Demographics, racial and ethnic diver ...

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 Jet Ski or water scooter, is a primarily recreational watercraft that is designed to hold only a small number of occupants, who sit or stand on top of the craft, not within the craft as in a boat. P ...

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 radio controlled by an operator on the ground using a hand-held radio transmitter. The transmitter continuously communicates with a receiver (rad ...

. 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 th ...

. 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; : amoebas (less commonly, amebas) or amoebae (amebae) ), often called an amoeboid, is a type of Cell (biology), cell or unicellular organism with the ability to alter its shape, primarily by ...

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. The lake today does not support water sports, boating. Catch and release bank fishing is allowed as long as signage of where you are not allowed to fish is followed.

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 Atlan ...

, 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 a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

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 allowed development on the land. Coppell residents approved a bond measure in 2007, part of which would be used to fund the construction of new schools in the area. The

Subprime mortgage crisis The American subprime mortgage crisis was a multinational financial crisis that occurred between 2007 and 2010, contributing to the 2008 financial crisis. It led to a severe economic recession, with millions becoming unemployed and many busines ...

postponed Billingsley's plans to develop the land until 2013. The lake was drained to about 13 feet deep, significantly reducing its surface area. Now known as Cypress Waters, the area has experienced rapid business and multi-family residential development. An area on the south shore of the lake is now known as The Sound and features restaurants and a concert amphitheater.

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 ...

, 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 coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

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 Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on one or two skis. The sport requires sufficien ...

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. History The ultimate origin of buoys is unknown, but by 1295 a seaman's manual referred to navigation buo ...

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 ''Ceratophyllum demersum'', commonly known as hornwort (a common name shared with the unrelated Anthocerotophyta), rigid hornwort, coontail, or coon's tail, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Ceratophyllum''. It is a submerged, free-f ...

) 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