Joe Pool Lake

{{Short description|A fresh water reservoir in south west Dallas}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}

{{Infobox body of water

| name = Joe Pool Lake

| image = Cedar Hill State Park November 2020 03 (Joe Pool Lake).jpg

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| location = Dallas / Tarrant / Ellis counties, Texas, United States

| coords = {{Coord|32|37|43|N|97|0|19|W|type:waterbody_region:US-TX|display=inline,title}}

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| inflow =

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| catchment = {{convert|233|sqmi|abbr=on}}

| basin_countries = United States

| width =

| area = {{convert|7740|acre|km2|abbr=on}}

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| max-depth = {{convert|75|ft|abbr=on}}

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| pushpin_map = Texas#USA

| pushpin_label_position =

| pushpin_map_alt = Location of Joe Pool Lake in Texas, USA.

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File:Joe R. Pool.png

File:USACE Joe Pool Lake and Dam.jpg

Joe Pool Lake is a fresh water impoundment (reservoir) located in the southern part of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in North Texas. The lake encompasses parts of Tarrant, Dallas and Ellis counties. The lake measures {{convert|7740|acre|km2|1}} with a conservation storage capacity of {{convert|176,900|acre.ft|m3}}. With a maximum depth of {{convert|75|ft|m|0}} the lake drains an area of {{convert|232|sqmi|km2|0}}.

Joe Pool Lake was named after Joe R. Pool, a Congressman-At-Large from the Oak Cliff area of Dallas who represented this area as well as the rest of the state of Texas from 1963 until his death in 1968. Pool was highly influential in the passage of legislation and funding of the lake. The project to build Joe Pool Lake initiated by a promise made in 1960Joe Pool's Report to Kennedy-Johnson Natural Resources Advisory Committee. JFK Library. Frank E. Smith Personal Papers. Reports From N.R.A.C. Members: P-Q. FESPP-006-002. 1960-1961. December 15, 1960.[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Joe_Pool%27s_Report_to_Kennedy-Johnson_Natural_Resource_Advisory_Committee_12-15-1960_W-16.pdf] by Kennedy-Johnson Natural Resources Advisory Committee member Joe PoolLetter from Frank E. Smith to Joe Pool. JFK Library. Frank E. Smith Personal Papers. Committee Membership List FESPP-001-008. 1960-1961. December 16, 1960.[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kennedy_Johnson_Natural_Resources_Advisory_Committee_Response_Letter_to_Joe_Pool.pdf] and was carried out, after Pool's death in 1968, by a citizens committee called the Lakeview (Joe Pool) Planning Council."Name Lake for Pool Resolution Urges". The Dallas Morning News. February 24, 1969. Pool's project was approved by Congress in 1965"Pool Hails Approval of Area Lake". The Dallas Morning News. September 23, 1965. and was known as Lakeview Reservoir until 1982 when president Ronald W. Reagan signed a bill to rename the lake to Joe Pool Lake.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=An Act to designate Lakeview Lake project, Mountain Creek, Texas, as the 'Joe Pool Lake' |url=https://legislation.lawi.us/an-act-to-designate-the-lakeview-lake-project-mountain-creek-texas-as-the-joe-pool-lake/ |website=legislation.lawi.us}} Actual construction began in 1977, bridge work was finished in 1981, with lake completion in December 1985. Impoundment of water began in January 1986 and the lake was filled by June 1989.

After 60 years, through the sheer determination of Joe Pool, his congressional friends and the many members of the Lakeview (Joe Pool) Planning Council, Pool's promise of flood control for the Mountain/Walnut Creek watershed was made good to the affected property owners.

"On May 24, 1986 with the lake approximately half full and still several years away from being open to the public, a ceremony was held to dedicate the new Joe Pool Lake. 1,500 people attended including U.S. Democratic Majority Leader Jim Wright, who among others, had helped keep the project alive through the years. There was food, music, cannons, and speeches. Joe Pool would have been proud to be there."{{cite web |title=Joe Pool Lake (Trinity River Basin) | Texas Water Development Board |url=https://www.twdb.texas.gov/surfacewater/rivers/reservoirs/joe_pool/index.asp}}Vander Hill, Bryan. A Biographical Sketch of Joe Pool. Department of History 3363: Dr. Lackman. University of Texas. July 8, 1991.Gould, Lewis L. (1929). Professor, Dept. of History, University of Texas at Austin. Joe Richard Pool. "Dictionary of American Biography". Science. 70(1805): 121–122.{{Cite web |last=Fernandez |first=Alyssa |date=August 1, 2021 |title=Dipping a toe into North Texas' lake history |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/from-the-archives/2021/07/29/dipping-a-toe-into-north-texas-lake-history/ |website=The Dallas Morning News}}"Ceremony Heralds New Lake". The Dallas Morning News. May 25, 1986.