Lake Conroe Standard Operating Procedures Explained

CONROE, TX - The Lake Conroe main spillway structure consists of five radial tainter gates, each 40 feet wide and 30 feet tall — almost as big as a two-story house! When rainfall and runoff cause the lake to rise above 201’ msl, the dam’s Gate Operations Policy is initiated. Strict adherence to the Policy ensures that the gates are gradually raised so that water is discharged from beneath the gates in a controlled fashion instead of spilling over the top, which can threaten the structure of the dam. The amount of water discharged is measured in cubic feet per second (cfs).

Lake Conroe is considered to be “full” when it reaches a water level of 201 feet above mean sea level (msl). Releases from the main spillway begin after the lake rises above 201’ msl.

Seasonal Lake Lowering of Lake Conroe is a joint reservoir operations strategy with the City of Houston who owns most of the water in Lake Conroe. It was developed to create capacity in the lake to catch rainfall and storm water runoff during a rain event.

Seasonal lowering of Lake Conroe below 201’ can only happen when the lake is not in storm operations. In Southeast Texas it can be very difficult to predict the location, duration, and amount of rainfall in a specific area, however any time there is significant rain in the forecast, seasonal lowering does not occur.