Scope and Content

Memoranda, correspondence, reports, studies, and other documents concerning Dallas Water Utilities' planning and development of a pump station on the Red River to alleviate severe water shortages in Dallas during the 1950s.

Dallas suffered fifty-two days of 100-plus temperatures in 1953, part of a statewide drought that lasted from 1951 to 1957.  At the end of 1951, the East Fork of the Trinity River had dried up, as well as the Clear Fork of the Trinity and Cedar Creek.  The city was in danger of running out of water at the end of 1951, and the crisis was not resolved until 1957.  Dallas voters defeated a $6 million bond package to increase capacity at the beginning of 1952 and Lake Dallas, then considered one of the city's main water sources, was silted and operating under capacity.

The Dallas City Council enacted water conservation measures, and the city refurbished the White Rock Pump Station, using the White Rock Lake's water for the first time in twenty-three years.  In 1953, the city constructed a pumping plant on the Red River directly north of Gainesville (at Stark Ranch) to divert river water over the Red-Trinity River divide and into Lake Dallas, thus supplementing the municipal supply.  Six pumps delivered water through a concrete pipeline and a cut channel approximately three miles to the head of Pecan Creek - a tributary of the Elm Fork of the Trinity River.  Because of high saline levels, the water damaged Dallas area networks and was discontinued.

Organization

The collection is maintained in original order by file folder subject heading.

Access

Permission to publish, reproduce, distribute, or use by any and all other current or future developed methods or procedures must be obtained in writing from the Dallas Municipal Archives. All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards.

Citation

Dallas Water Utilities Red River Pump Station Collection (Box <x>, Folder <y>), Dallas Municipal Archives

Related Material

None 

Index Terms

Water -- Texas -- History
Dallas -- Texas -- History

Container List