The Willows Neighborhood Association

Lake Buchanan

70 Year Old Structure is Architectual Rarity

Buchanan Dam, owned by LCRA, creates Lake Buchanan. Stretching for more than two miles, Buchanan is considered the longest multiple-arch dam in the nation. Builders no longer use the design because the amount of labor required makes construction too expensive. Today's dams require far less labor, but a thousand times more materials.

Buchanan lake and dam were the first completed in the Highland Lakes chain and were built primarily to store water and supply hydroelectricity. They are named for U.S. Rep. J.P. Buchanan, who helped secure federal funds to complete the project after the original builder declared bankruptcy. LCRA completed construction from 1935 to 1937.

Interesting Stats About Lake Buchanan and the Dam

Location: Burnet and Llano counties, 414 river miles from the Gulf of Mexico

When built: Started 1931, completed 1935 to 1937

Dimensions: 145.5 feet high, 10,987.55 feet long, 215.11 feet thick at the base, 34 feet thick at the top.

Lake area: 22,335 acres
Primary purpose: hydroelectric power, water supply

Generating capacity: 51.3 megawatts

Water supply storage capacity: 285 billion gallons

Floodgates: 37

Discharge capacity:
355,000 cubic feet per second (cfs)
7 large floodgates @ 19,000 cfs each
30 small floodgates @ 7,250 cfs each
3 turbines @ 1,500 cfs each

Elevation when full: 1,020.35 feet above mean sea level (msl) (five feet below top of dam)

Top of dam: 1,025.35 feet above msl

Volume when full: 875,566 acre-feet

Historic high: 1,021.4 feet above msl on Dec. 20, 1991

Historic low: 983.7 feet above msl on Sept. 9, 1952

Normal operating range:

May to October: at or below 1,018 feet above msl
November to April: at or below 1,020.35 feet above msl

100-year flood level at dam: 1,021 feet above msl

500-year flood level at dam: 1,022 feet above msl

Dimensions: 30.65 miles long, 4.92 miles at widest point