Boats in cove at Medina Lake, Texas. Circa
1927-1931. (UTSA Special Digital Collections)
MEDINA COUNTY, Texas – Medina Lake has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons in recent years due to low water levels but it hasn’t always been so dry.
Currently, Medina Lake is just 4.8% full, down roughly 20% from one year ago.
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The lake is actually a reservoir that was created as a result of the construction of the Medina Dam in 1913. The reservoir was created to help local farmers with irrigation for their crops.
“Medina Lake sees higher fluctuations compared to most other reservoirs and lakes,” KSAT Meteorologist Justin Horne explained. “That’s due to the fact that its main purpose is for irrigation and because its watershed is rather small. During dry stretches, you’ll see significant drops. But, as we’ve learned over history, all it takes is one well-placed rain event and it’ll fill back up.”
Photograph shows man, seated on hood of Model-T Ford, holding rope (tow line?) as car sits in swollen stream. Two women are sitting inside the car. Circa 1918. (UTSA Special Digital Collections)T. W. Masterson family in a boat on Medina Lake. Photograph shows family on their wooden pleasure boat near dock. Circa 1924. (UTSA Special Digital Collections)Medina Lake, 1924 (UTSA Special Digital Collections)Medina Diversion Reservoir, Medina County, Texas on June 21, 1924. (UTSA Special Digital Collections)Medina Dam, 1924. Photograph shows view of the dam as seen from a short distance below it. (UTSA Special Digital Collections)Boats in cove at Medina Lake, Texas. Circa
1927-1931. (UTSA Special Digital Collections)Photograph shows both shores of Medina Lake in June 1929. (UTSA Special Digital Collections)
