Crooked Lake Texas is a natural, seepage, pothole or ground water level lake. It is not a spring-fed or tributary-fed lake, nor does it have any inlets or outlets. It relies on precipitation and runoff to maintain its level. The lake also serves as a recharge basin for the aquifers below the surface and this "draining" effect, coupled with warm weather evaporation, significantly lowers the lake level during the summer months. Therefore, to maintain a lake level that allows all lake property owners access to the lake, the Crooked Lake Texas Association installed a pump in 1965. The cost of purchase, installation and operation of this pump was paid for by the lake members based on voluntary contributions.
As the original pump aged it required more and more maintenance. Since a higher lake level benefits all property owners, it was determined that the cost of operation and maintenance of the pump should be shared by everyone. Therefore, a petition to create a Special Assessment District was presented to the lake property owners in 2000 and the measure passed. In spite of the increased revenue to maintain and operate the pump, the original pump continued to lose efficiency and the lake level receded significantly. A lower lake level has many consequences:
It became apparent that to maintain a desirable lake level a new pump would be needed. The lake property owners were petitioned once again to approve the purchase of a new pump. The measure passed and a new pump was installed in 2002. Shortly after installation the original pump completely failed and was removed.
| Crooked Lake Texas Lake Level Monitoring |
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The CLTA has established a desired lake-level mark for the lake of 895.45 feet above sea level. The CLTA Board takes monthly readings of the lake level based on a civil engineering benchmark and using sophisticated level measuring devices. Lake level monitoring officially started in February, 2006. Below are the monthly measurements:
| Month/Year | Measurement (ft. above sea level) | Pump Status |
|---|---|---|
| February, 2006 | 893.82 | Running, but screen is plugged and maintenance scheduled |
| March 22, 2006 | 893.86 | Running, pump still in need of repair. |
| April 14, 2006 | 893.78 | Pump being repaired, currently not running. This is one reason why the lake level has dropped since last month's reading. |
| May 5, 2006 | 893.5 | Pump running but not at full capacity. Trying to determine exact reason as pump is mechanically sound and clean. |
| June 2, 2006 | 893.5 | Same pump status as May. CLTA Board is obtaining a second opinion on the well and pump. |
| July 3, 2006 | 893.2 | Water level is down 4.53 inches since June reading. The pump is running but less than 1/2 capacity. Well cleaning and pump repair is scheduled for July 24, 2006 |
| July 27, 2006 | 892.9 | Water level is down 3.5 inches since July 3 reading. The pump is currently torn apart for cleaning and pump upgrades. We hope to be up and running at a much higher output rate sometime next week. |
| September 1, 2006 | 893.00 | Water level up 1 inch from July 27 reading. Pump is running. |
| October 6, 2006 | 893.2 | Water level up 2.75 inches from Sept. 1 reading. Pump is running. |
| November 15, 2006 | 893.4 | Water level up 2.25 inches from Oct. 6 reading. Pump is running. |
| December 15, 2006 | 893.75 | Water level up 4.25 inches from Nov. 15 reading. Pump is running. |
| January 12, 2007 | 894.00 | Water level up 3 inches from Dec. 15 reading. Pump is running. |
| March 12, 2007 | 894.42 | Water level up 5 inches from Jan. 12 reading. Pump is running. |
| April 13, 2007 | 894.59 | Water level is up 2 inches from March 12 reading. Pump is running. |
| May 7, 2007 | 894.42 | Water level is down 2 inches from April 13 reading. Pump is running. |
| June 7, 2007 | 894.25 | Water level is down 2 inches from May 7 reading. Pump is running. |
| July 18, 2007 | 893.5 | Water level is down 8.55 inches from June 7 reading. We've had virtually no precipation over the last month. Pump is running. |
| August 23, 2007 | 893.65 | Water level is up 1.25 inches from July 17 reading, due in large part to some heavy rains. Pump is running. |
| October 11, 2007 | 893.25 | Water level is down 4.55 inches from August 23 reading. Pump was down two weeks due to equipment problems. Now back up and running. |
| November 14, 2007 | 893.34 | Water level is up 1 inch from October 11 reading. |
| March 26, 2008 | 894.67 | Water level is up 16 inches from the November 14, 2007 reading. |
| May 20, 2008 | 894.73 | Water level is up 3/4 inch from the March 26, 2008 reading. |
| July 10, 2008 | 894.53 | Water level is down 2.46 inches from the May 20, 2008 reading. |
| August 20, 2008 | 894 | Water level is down 6.25 inches from the July 10, 2008 reading. |
| October 4, 2008 | 894.63 | Water level is UP 7.45 inches from the August 20, 2008 reading. This is due to the extremely heavy rainfall (approx. 10 inches) in September. |
| November 19, 2008 | 894.84 | Water level is up 2.55 inches from the October 4, 2008 reading. We are within 7 inches of our target lake level. |
| March 6, 2009 | 895.28 | Water level is up 5.25 inches from the November 19, 2008 reading. We are within 2.13 inches of our target lake level. |
| April 8, 2009 | 895.65 | Water level is up 4.5 inches from the March 6, 2009 reading. We are now 2.37 inches ABOVE our target lake level. The pump is off. |
| May 19, 2009 | 895.8 | Water level is up 1.75 inches from the April 8, 2009 reading. We are now 4.12 inches ABOVE our target lake level. The pump is off. |
| June 29, 2009 | 895.78 | Water level is down .25 inch from the May 19, 2009 reading. We are still 3.87 inches ABOVE our target lake level. The pump is off. |
| July 20, 2009 | 895.46 | Water level is down 3.75 inch from the June 29, 2009 reading. We are now 0.12 inch ABOVE our target lake level. The pump is off. |
| August 31, 2009 | 895.6 | Water level is up 1.87 inches from the July 20, 2009 reading due to cool weather and heavy rains. We are now a little less than 2 inches ABOVE our target lake level. The pump is off. |
| October 1, 2009 | 895.31 | Water level is down 3.625 inches from August 31, 2009 reading. We are down 1.76 inches from target lake level but will not be turning the pump on as we enter the winter months. |
| October 17, 2009 | 895.39 | Water level is up 1 inch from October 1, 2009 reading. We are down 0.76 inches from target lake level. Pump remains off for the winter. |
| October 31, 2009 | 895.6 | Water level is up 2.5 inches from October 17, 2009 reading. We are now 1.745 inches above target lake level. Pump remains off for the winter. |
| November 15, 2009 | 895.5 | Water level is down 1 inch from October 31, 2009 reading. We are now 5/8 inch above target lake level. Pump remains off for the winter. |
| December 2, 2009 | 895.5 | Water level is virtually the same as November 15, 2009 reading, down about a 1/4 inch. We are now 3/8 inch above target lake level. Pump remains off for the winter. |
| January 4, 2010 | 895.67 | Water level is up 2.25 inches from the December 2, 2009 reading. We are now 2.62 inches above target lake level. Pump remains off for the winter. |
| April 27, 2010 | 895.31 | Water level down 3.87 inches from the January 4, 2010 reading. We are now 1.63 inches below target lake level. Pump remains off. |
| May 14, 2010 | 895.4 | Water level up 1 inch from the April 27, 2010 reading. We are now 0.63 inch below target lake level. Pump remains off. |
| June 9, 2010 | 895.4 | Water level down 1/4 inch from May 14, 2010 reading. We are now 0.88 inch below target lake level. Pump remains off. |
| July 19, 2010 | 895.04 | Water level down 4 inches from June 9, 2010 reading. We are now 4.88 inch below target lake level. Pump remains off. |
| September 20, 2010 | 894.4 | Water level down 8 inches from July 19, 2010 reading. We are now 12.63 inches below target lake level. |
| October 24, 2010 | 894.00 | Water level is down about 5 inches from our September 20, 2010 reading. We are now 17.38 inches below target lake level. |
| December 5, 2010 | 894.00 | Water is the same as our October 24, 2010 reading. We are now 17.38 inch below target lake level. The pump was turned on but has some electrical problems that are being addressed. Once fixed the pump will be running during the winter months. |
| January 20, 2011 | 894.25 | Water is up 6.25 inches from the December 5, 2010 reading. We are now 11.13 inches below target lake level. The pump is running. |
| April 21, 2011 | 895.0 | Water is up 5.5 inches from the January 20, 2011 reading. We are now 5.63 inches below target lake level. The pump is running. |
| May 19, 2011 | 894.9 | Water is down 1.5 inches from the April 21, 2011 reading. We are now 7.13 inches below target lake level. The pump is NOT running due to mechanical failures. |
| June 25, 2011 | 894.7 | Water is down 2.5 inches from the May 19, 2011 reading. We are now 9.63 inches below target lake level. The pump is NOT running due to mechanical failures. |
| July 24, 2011 | 894.3 | Water is down 4.25 inches from the June 25, 2011 reading. We are now 13.88 inches below target lake level. The pump is NOT running due to mechanical failures. |
| August 28, 2011 | 894.1 | Water is down 2.25 inches from the July 24, 2011 reading. We are now 16.13 inches below target lake level. The pump is NOT running due to mechanical failures. |
| October 3, 2011 | 893.8 | Water is down 4.1 inches from the August 28, 2011 reading. We are now 20.23 inches below target lake level. The pump is NOT running due to mechanical failures. |
| December 13, 2011 | 893.8 | Water is bascially the same as the reading from October 3, 2011. We are still 20 inches below target lake level. The pump is NOT running but a new well is being installed. |
| January 23, 2012 | 894.4 | Water level has increased 7.25 inches since the December 13, 2011 reading. We are 12.75 inches below target lake level. A NEW WELL has been installed and will run throughout the winter months. |