Addicks Reservoir: Flood Control and Capacity in Harris County
Published: 1976
Updated: August 18, 2016
Addicks Reservoir is on South Mayde Creek a mile east of Addicks in western Harris County (at 29°47' N, 95°37' W). The filled rolled-earth dam is 61,166 feet long, and the drainage area above the dam covers 129 square miles. The elevation of the dam is 121 feet at the top, and the crest of the spillway reaches seventy-one feet. The United States Army Corps of Engineers completed the dam in 1948 in an effort to provide flood control in Buffalo Bayou and the San Jacinto River basin. The dam helps protect the city of Houston from floodwaters. Water is stored only for flood control and is released when flooding is no longer a danger. The total storage capacity of Addicks Reservoir and the adjacent Barker Reservoir is 411,500 acre-feet.
Bibliography:
Water for Texas, Vol. 1: A Comprehensive Plan for the Future; Vol. 2: Technical Appendix (Austin: Texas Department of Water Resources, 1984).
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The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.
Anonymous, “Addicks Reservoir,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed March 09, 2026, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/addicks-reservoir.
Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
TID:
ROA03
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- 1976
- August 18, 2016
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