Wirtz Dam

Wirtz Dam

Wirtz Dam
Official name Wirtz Dam
Location Horseshoe Bay, Burnet County, Texas, U.S.
Coordinates 30°33′20″N 98°20′16″W / 30.55556°N 98.33778°W / 30.55556; -98.33778Coordinates: 30°33′20″N 98°20′16″W / 30.55556°N 98.33778°W / 30.55556; -98.33778
Construction began 1949
Opening date 1951
Operator(s) Lower Colorado River Authority
Dam and spillways
Impounds Colorado River
Height 118.3 feet (36.1 m)
Length 5,491 feet (1,674 m)
Width (base) 80 feet (24 m)
Reservoir
Creates Lake LBJ
Surface area 6,534 acres (26.44 km2)[1]
Power station
Turbines 2[1]
Installed capacity 56 MW[1]

Wirtz Dam (formerly Granite Shoals Dam) was constructed from 1949 to 1951 to provide hydroelectric power and to form Lake Lyndon B. Johnson (formerly Lake Granite Shoals), one of the Texas Highland Lakes. Lake LBJ ‒ as it is more commonly referred to ‒ provides cooling water for the Lower Colorado River Authority's Thomas C. Ferguson Power Plant along Horsehoe Bay.

Wirtz Dam was originally named Granite Shoals Dam until 1951 when it was renamed in honor of Alvin J. Wirtz who had been instrumental in the formation of the LCRA.

Likewise, Lake LBJ was originally named Lake Granite Shoals until 1965 when it was renamed for another advocate of the LCRA, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Witz Dam and Lake LBJ are located due west of Lake Marble Falls and the city of Marble Falls, Texas.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Wirtz Dam and Lake LBJ". http://www.lcra.org/water/dams/wirtz.html. Lower Colorado River Authority. 2007. External link in |website= (help);
  2. ↑ "Wirtz Dam and Lake LBJ". Retrieved 18 July 2012.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wirtz Dam.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 1/31/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.