The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) has launched a feasibility study to assess whether land it owns in Colorado County could support a new large-scale water supply reservoir, as part of its long-term strategy to meet growing demand across Central and South Texas.
According to LCRA General Manager Phil Wilson, the study will examine technical, environmental and permitting considerations for a site located northwest of Eagle Lake in Colorado County. The Colorado River referenced in the project is the Colorado River, which flows entirely within Texas and is distinct from the Colorado River in the western United States.
The site lies about 110 miles southeast of Austin, within the lower Colorado River basin and downstream of the Highland Lakes system. LCRA has identified this part of the basin as strategically important for off-channel storage, given its higher rainfall and proximity to existing river intake infrastructure.
Map of the Colorado County property under consideration as the site of a new LCRA reservoir. Source: LCRA.
Early estimates suggest the potential reservoir could store between 48,000 and 80,000 acre-feet of water. The project is included as a long-term option in LCRA’s Water Supply Resource Report, approved in November 2025, which outlines strategies to add roughly 60,000 acre-feet of new water supplies by 2040.
Stephen F. Cooper, chair of the LCRA Board of Directors, said the authority is continuing to advance major supply projects following recent investments. “Now that Arbuckle Reservoir in Wharton County is up and running, we’re looking at bringing another major water supply project online,” he said. “That next project may well be another off-channel reservoir about an hour up the road in Colorado County.”
Wilson emphasized that details such as cost, funding and timeline will be developed only after the feasibility study is complete. “It’s too early to know specifics, because we first need to do our due diligence,” he said.
The study builds on the October 2025 commissioning of Arbuckle Reservoir in Wharton County, the first large water supply reservoir constructed in the lower Colorado River basin since the Highland Lakes were completed in the early 1950s. Arbuckle has a storage capacity of about 40,000 acre-feet and a lifetime project budget of $456 million, partially funded by the Texas Water Development Board.
Together, the operational success of Arbuckle Reservoir and the evaluation of a new Colorado County site reflect LCRA’s phased approach to securing reliable water supplies for a rapidly growing region.
