The North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) owns all lands along the Bois d’Arc Lake shoreline below the 541’ mean sea level (MSL) elevation as well as some areas adjacent to the shoreline. Access to NTMWD-owned property and authorization for shoreline uses and improvements requires written approval from NTMWD. The Bois d’Arc Lake Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) provides guidelines for obtaining written authorization from NTMWD for shoreline access and approved shoreline uses and improvements.

What is the Shoreline Management Plan?

The Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) balances drinking water supply needs with safe recreational uses and sustainability. The SMP guides use of the shoreline up to the 541-foot elevation, which is property owned by NTMWD that includes the 100-year flood level. The SMP also regulates uses of NTMWD property along the shoreline by current and future private property owners.

NTMWD developed the plan by drawing on a technical analysis of the lake and its shoreline, local zoning laws, the Fannin County Bois d’Arc Lake Comprehensive Plan and input from stakeholders considered during that plan’s development.

The Shoreline Management Plan:

• Offers a shared vision for the lake and its proper use
• Creates shoreline classifications to help balance different factors affecting the lake and shoreline
• Provides direction for local property owners on approved uses of the shoreline
• Promotes appropriate and safe recreational uses of the lake

The NTMWD Board of Directors approved the Shoreline Management Plan at its October 2020 board meeting.

Shoreline Uses: What is Allowed on the Shore and Where?

Private property owners next to the lake may request permission to build amenities on NTMWD property or use this NTMWD property for certain activities. These requests must be approved and permitted by NTMWD and may require a fee. Applicants can submit and receive a permit through NTMWD’s permitting process, once that process is established and the NTMWD Board approves accepting applications.

The Permitting Process: How to Obtain a Shoreline Use Agreement

NTMWD staff is currently developing the processes required for obtaining a shoreline use agreement.

Shoreline Classifications

Bois d’Arc Lake’s shoreline falls into five different classifications. See the Shoreline Management Plan for the official shoreline classification map.

Activities allowed on a particular shoreline will be determined based on these classifications as well as the unique characteristics of the site. Activities that may be authorized include boat docks, fishing piers and placement of recreational facilities on land adjacent to the shoreline, such as picnic tables, patios, BBQ pits and more.

These shoreline classifications do not guarantee an activity will be approved, and on-site conditions must be verified through a site visit as part of the shoreline use approval process. Shorelines may be reclassified based on the characteristics found during these site visits.

History of Partnering with Fannin County

The District’s Shoreline Management Plan was the next step in a long cooperative process between NTMWD and Fannin County.

• In 2011, with the support of NTMWD and Fannin County, the state amended the Texas Local Government Code to grant Fannin County the authority to zone the area within 5,000 feet of the future lake’s shoreline.
• In October of 2016, the Fannin County Commissioners Court approved the County’s Comprehensive Plan for Lower Bois d’Arc Creek Reservoir, now known as Bois d’Arc Lake. This comprehensive plan, which included a robust public process, established a vision for how the land around Bois d’Arc Lake’s shoreline should develop.
• In October of 2018, Fannin County officials approved the lake’s zoning regulations.