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History	Purpose	Future	Capacity	Montford Dam
John T. Montford Dam at Lake Alan Henry History   Planning for this project began in the 1960’s when City leaders realized that should the City’s population growth continue as projected, the City would need another water source.   Years of engineering studies, research and soil testing resulted in the recommendation of the current location of Lake Alan Henry.  The current location of the John Montford Dam was the closest and best location in which to construct a dam. Application was made to the Army Corps of Engineers for a permit to dam “Water of the United States” in the Brazos River Basin.  The application was granted and design work for the dam was completed in the 1980’s.  Construction began in 1991, and was completed in 1993. Back to Top   Purpose Future Water Supply for the City of Lubbock   Currently, the City of Lubbock uses Lake Meredith (located north of Amarillo) to obtain 80% of its drinking water supply (80%), and uses two ground water well fields in Bailey County (Muleshoe Area) and Roberts Counties (Pampa Area) to obtain the remaining 20%.  The ground water from the well fields is withdrawn from the Ogallala Aquifer. Lake Alan Henry is considered a tertiary (third) drinking water supply for future use.  Back to Top Future Development Needed to Utilize Lake Alan Henry Water   Three pump stations to take water uphill to Lubbock.  Lubbock is located approximately 1,000 feet higher in elevation than Lake Alan Henry. 65-mile pipeline to carry the water to Lubbock. A new treatment plant to blend Lake Alan Henry water with Bailey County well water.  The treatment plant will be located in southwest Lubbock. Back to Top Capacity of Lake Alan Henry and Water Volume   When the lake is operating at full operational level (elevation 2220 feet above mean sea level), the lake will:  Cover 2,888 Acres  Be 11 miles long  Have 95 miles of shoreline  Yield 23 Million Gallons per day for Lubbock  Contain 115,937 Acre-Feet of water  Contain 40 Billion gallons  Be approximately 90 feet deep at the Dam  Have an average overall depth of 40 feet Back to Top John T. Montford Dam Construction Facts Composition 6.5 Million cubic yards of soil, clay and soil-cement Height of Dam 138 Feet Crest Elevation 2,263 Feet above Sea Level Length of Dam 3,600 Feet Width of Dam 1,000 Feet wide at the base Service Spillway (Concrete) Designed to pass 15.6 million gallons per minute. Emergency Spillway (Earthen) Designed to pass 211 million gallons per minute. Lake Alan Henry's spillway was used for the first time on Saturday, October 2, 2004, after rains filled the lake.  Brazos River Authority staff indicated that "everything is in good shape, and the spillway is doing it's job." Photo by Scot Pate, BRA Back to Top

Please email your questions to  lakealanhenry@lubbockcityhall.us For more information call 806-775-2673. Lake Alan Henry is operated by the City of Lubbock, Texas ~ Parks and Recreation Department To link to their webpage, click here:  parks.ci.lubbock.tx.us All Pages Visited as of 1/26/05