About The Lake

Bois d’Arc Lake in Fannin County is a critical new source of water for one of the fastest growing regions in the country. It provides up to 82 million gallons per day for the over two million residents and businesses served by North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD). In addition, the lake is an ideal spot for fishing, boating, waterfowl hunting, picnicking and other outdoor activities.

The lake is named after the Bois d’Arc [pronounced bō-ˌdä(r)k] tree, which commonly grows in this area and whose name honors the local area and history.

Fast Facts

When it was finished, Bois d’Arc Lake was the first major reservoir built in Texas in nearly 30 years.

  • Key facts / components
    • Location: Fannin County, Texas
    • Owner and operator: North Texas Municipal Water District
    • Surface area: around 26 square miles (slightly smaller than Jim Chapman Lake)
    • Storage capacity: 367,609 acre-feet
    • Supply: Firm yield of 82 million gallons per day*
    • Average/Max Depth: 22/70 ft.
    • Full lake elevation: 534 ft. above sea level
    • Environmental mitigation: Improvements on more than 17,000 acres
    • Recreational use: Boating, fishing, waterfowl hunting and day-use picnic areas

      • *Firm yield is the amount of water that can be supplied to cover water needs even during the driest conditions we have ever experienced.

  • Building the Lake

    NTMWD began the process to permit and build the reservoir in 2003. Crews broke ground on the lake in May of 2018, and Bois d’Arc Lake was formally dedicated 4 years later in October of 2022. Water delivery began in March 2023.

    Numerous individual components were built to form a system that collects, diverts, carries, treats and delivers Bois d’Arc Lake’s treated water, including:

    1. Construction of the reservoir’s dam and intake to transfer water from the lake to the raw water pump station

    2. Installation of a raw water pump station and 35 miles of pipeline to carry raw water to the treatment facility

    3. Construction of a high service pump station, terminal storage reservoir, and Leonard Water Treatment Plant

    4. Installation of 25 miles of treated water pipeline to deliver treated water from the new Leonard plant into NTMWD’s distribution system

    5. Various roadway and bridge improvements plus construction of a new bridge across the reservoir

    6. Environmental improvements on 17,000+ acres to counteract impacts of the project

    Leonard Water Treatment Plant

    All these components have been finished. The Leonard Water Treatment plant began delivering treated drinking water in March 2023. The plant will initially treat up to 70 million gallons per day (MGD) to high quality drinking water standards and will be expanded to treat up to 280 MGD in the future.

  • Project Cost

    The Bois d’Arc Lake project cost approximately $1.6 billion. The Texas Water Development Board State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) low-cost financing saved ratepayers over $230 million in financing costs.

  • Lasting Benefits

    Water and Economic Benefits

    Bois d’Arc Lake is helping meet the water needs of more than two million North Texans, and it is stimulating economic and recreational opportunities at the same time. Construction alone increased economic activity in Fannin County by around $500 million, and recreation is expected to bring around $166 million annually for the county with the lake open to the public. The lake is boosting taxable real estate values and providing the supplies to attract and support new businesses and jobs across the region.

    Environmental Benefits

    While building the lake, NTMWD also successfully completed one of the largest environmental improvement efforts in the country to counteract the loss of habitat and impact on some local streams.

    NTMWD:
    • Restored or improved 17,000+ acres on several sites, including the former Riverby Ranch
    • Planted 6.3 million trees
    • Created 8,500 acres of new wetland
    • Planted 3,200 acres of native grassland
    • Improved 70+ miles of streams

    Resource Environmental Solutions (RES), a national expert in environmental restoration, was hired to return the land to a natural, pre-agricultural condition. The company will continue to maintain, measure and monitor the project’s success until NTMWD’s permit requirements are met, which could take up to 20 years. The restoration, however, already shows promising signs of success, welcoming back a host of diverse birds and animals, including key predators.