Officials break ground on future reservoir Lake Ralph Hall

Officials broke ground Wednesday on Lake Ralph Hall, a future reservoir that will provide water for part of North Texas, including Denton County.

Lake Ralph Hall will be a 7,600-acre reservoir in southeast Fannin County. It is expected to be completed in 2025 and be delivering water by 2026 to the Upper Trinity Regional Water District and member communities. It will be one of the state’s biggest reservoir projects in nearly 30 years, according to a water district news release. Located on the North Sulphur River in Fannin County just north of the city of Ladonia, Lake Ralph Hall will provide an additional 35 million gallons daily of water and 19 MGD of reuse water for the residents of Denton, Collin and Fannin counties. UTRWD currently serves more than 29 cities, towns and utilities supplying drinking water to close to 300,000 customers.

Lake Ralph Hall was named after Texas’ longtime U.S. Congressman Ralph M. Hall, and its dam named after Ladonia’s visionary mayor Leon Hurse. The lake will provide essential water for UTRWD’s service area, as its population is projected to increase nearly fivefold in the next 50 years.

Denton County Judge Andy Eads spoke at the groundbreaking about the importance of planning for the future, and Denton County Commissioners Bobbie Mitchell and Ron Marchant also attended.