Wirtz Dam

Dam in Texas, U.S.

30°33′20″N 98°20′16″W / 30.55556°N 98.33778°W / 30.55556; -98.33778Construction began1949Opening date1951Operator(s)Lower Colorado River AuthorityDam and spillwaysImpoundsColorado RiverHeight118.3 feet (36.1 m)Length5,491 feet (1,674 m)Width (base)80 feet (24 m)Spillway type10 controlled bulkhead-gateSpillway capacity317,400 cu ft/s (8,990 m³/s) (10 floodgates at 30,800; 2 turbines at 4,700)ReservoirCreatesLake LBJSurface area6,534 acres (26.44 km²)^[1]Power StationTurbines2^[1]Installed capacity60 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 Horseshoe 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.

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

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Wirtz Dam and Lake LBJ". Lower Colorado River Authority. 2007. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
^ "Wirtz Dam and Lake LBJ". Retrieved 18 July 2012.