About
Lake Worth was built in 1914 as a reservoir and for recreation. The property is owned by the City of Fort Worth, while the Tarrant Regional Water District controls the reservoir’s water rights. The lake has a moderate fluctuation with stained clarity. Submerged vegetation is sparse. There are shallow flats covered with cattails and other emergent species. Since construction of the dam, the lake’s capacity has been increased from 21,800 acre-feet to 33,600 acre-feet through the construction of nearby Eagle Mountain and Bridgeport reservoirs and the purchase of water from Benbrook Reservoir. The drainage area above the dam, including the area drained by Eagle Mountain and Bridgeport reservoirs, was increased from 200 square miles to 2,064 square miles. The spillway crest elevation is 594.3 feet above mean sea level. Lake Worth is surrounded by other residential areas in addition to Fort Worth. White Settlement and Carswell Air Force Base are south of its southern shore, the community of Lake Worth lies to the east, and Lakeside is near its western shore. A number of city parks dot its shoreline, and the Fort Worth National Fish Hatchery occupies an area just beyond the lake’s dam. The local terrain is flat to rolling, surfaced by sandy and clay loams that support juniper and oak trees, brush, chaparral, cacti, and grasses.