Lake Limestone
Sterling C. Robertson Dam

Lake Limestone, located on the upper Navasota River in Limestone, Robertson and Leon Counties, is a water supply reservoir built by the Brazos River Authority in 1978.

Construction of the reservoir was made possible through the sale of water to Texas Electric Utilities for "cooling water" to be used by their lignite-burning electric plants in the area.

Water from the lake is supplied for similar use at a NRG steam-electric plant just east of the lake and a Texas Municipal Power Agency power plant located near the Navasota River 50 miles downstream.

The waters of the lake are open for public use for all types of water-based recreation. The Authority provides free public access areas at various locations around the lake for boating, swimming, fishing and other recreational activities.

Lake Limestone was formed by the construction of Sterling C. Robertson Dam. Constructed of earth and concrete, the dam runs 8,395 feet.

The Robertson Dam stands 72 feet tall with a emergency spillway measuring 3,000 feet. The service spillway is made of concrete and houses five "tainter" gates for water release. Each gates measures 40 x 28 feet. The depth of the lake at the dam is 43 feet.

When full, the lake covers a surface area of 12,680 acres and holds back 225,440 acre feet or 73.5 billion gallons of water.

The project was built entirely without use of any tax money. Funding for the reservoir was financed by revenues from the sale of water.