Once named Granite Shoals Wirtz Dam and Lake LBJ Lake provides cooling water for nearby power plant
Wirtz Dam, owned by LCRA, creates Lake LBJ.
Wirtz Dam was built from 1949 to 1950 primarily to provide additional hydroelectric power. It was built in tandem with Starcke Dam downstream. Lake LBJ provides cooling water for LCRA's Thomas C. Ferguson Power Plant along Horseshoe Bay.
The dam and lake originally were called Granite Shoals. The dam was renamed in 1952 for Alvin J. Wirtz who was instrumental in LCRA's creation and served as its first general counsel. The lake was renamed in 1965 for another advocate of LCRA, President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Location: Llano and Burnet counties, 387 river miles from the Gulf of Mexico When built: 1949 to 1950 Dam dimensions: 118.3 feet high, 5,491.4 feet long, 80 feet thick at the base, 12 feet thick at the top Lake area: 6,534 acres Primary purpose: hydroelectric power Generating capacity: 56 megawatts Floodgates: 10 Total discharge capacity:
328,600 cubic feet per second (cfs)
1 floodgate @ 26,000 cfs
9 floodgates @ 27,000 cfs each
2 turbines @ 4,100 cfs each
Original name: Granite Shoals
DETAILS ON LAKE LBJ
Lake elevation when full: 825 feet above mean sea level (msl) Volume when full: 134,353 acre-feet Historic high: 836.2 feet above msl on Sept. 11, 1952 Historic low: 793.8 feet above msl on Nov. 16, 1970 Normal operating range: 824.4 feet to 825 feet above msl 100-year flood level at dam: 827.9 feet above msl 500-year flood level at dam: 841 feet above msl Top of dam: 838 feet above msl Dimensions: 21.15 miles long and 10,800 feet at widest point
