🌟 Dam History Spotlight: Buchanan Dam—A Texas Legacy

	Lake Buchanan and Dam

As we look ahead to the 2026 USSD Annual Conference in Austin, we're highlighting one of Texas’ most significant engineering achievements: Buchanan Dam, the first and uppermost reservoir in the LCRA Highland Lakes system.

Located northwest of Burnet on the Colorado River, Buchanan Dam carries a remarkable history of resilience, political maneuvering, and engineering ambition.

🔹 1850s origins: The dam site was first identified by Burnet County surveyor Adam Johnson, who sketched the idea decades before construction ever began.
🔹 A project nearly lost: Construction started in 1931 under a private utility, but bankruptcy halted progress at less than halfway complete.
🔹 Texas persistence: Attorney Alvin Wirtz secured federal funding with one condition: Texas needed a public agency to own and operate the project. After multiple legislative attempts, the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) was officially created in 1934.
🔹 Building the future: LCRA restarted construction in 1935, and by 1938 the dam was complete, with the first generator running in early 1938.

Buchanan Dam is more than infrastructure. It represents innovation, negotiation, and Texas determination. https://lnkd.in/ebMPeQ2A.