User:Stj0518/Lake Bob Sandlin

Location
Lake Bob Sandlin is located 5 miles southwest of Mount Pleasant, TX in Titus, Franklin, and Camp counties. Many small towns and cities neighbor this lake, notable ones being Quitman, TX (population 26,264) and Hawkins, TX (population 9,070). Lake Bob Sandlin lies on Big Cypress Creek which is the headwater for Cypress Bayou, meaning it sits on the Cypress River Basin. This reservoir is located in an intersection of two ecoregions (Piney woods and Black land prairie) which is officially known as the Post Oak Savannah transition area.

Hydrology
Lake Bob Sandlin is an impoundment of Big Cypress Creek which is the headwaters for the Cypress Bayou. This reservoir has a maximum depth of 65.6 feet, and its conservation pool elevation is 337.5 ft. msl (main sea level). Encompassing 9,460 acres of surface area, this reservoir has a total/maximum water storage amount of 203,148 acre-feet (including the dead pool). As of November 14th, 2022, the lake is sitting at 92.6% full.

Physiochemical properties
Bob Sandlin Reservoir has a normal clarity to it, averaging 2-4 feet of visibility throughout.

Terrestrial Ecosystem
This reservoir is at the meeting of two ecoregions making for great biodiversity and beautiful scenery such as massive trees and tall grasses.

Flora
In total, this reservoir has less than 3% coverage of aquatic vegetation over its total surface area, the main ones of those being hydrilla and alligatorweed.

Fauna
Full of target game fish and other important peaks of interest, Bob Sandlin has a vast diversity of many different species of fish, and the average fishing report is depicted below.

Invasive species
The primary invasive species found in this reservoir is Hydrilla.

Uses/Purposes
In addition to the reservoir's main functions of water storage and use for industrialization, this lake also has been known to be a huge attraction to recreational users such as fisherman. The Bob Sandlin project was a cooperation of two entities, Titus County Freshwater District No. 1, and the Texas Utilities Electric company.

Recreation
Nearby to the reservoir, Lake Bob Sandlin State Park is a popular attraction to many tourists and visitors, having many recreational features such as camping, fishing, hiking, and swimming.

History
This reservoir's name comes from a local civic leader who was also president of the Titus County Freshwater District No. 1, Mr. Bob Sandlin. This dam was built to have a maximum height of 69 feet, top width of 25 feet, and total length of 10,800 feet. Impounded in 1978, this state-owned project costed approximately $32 million in total from beginning to end of its construction.