New Braunfels Edition | May 2026

Real estate

BY AMIRA VAN LEEUWEN

Three years following the dam failure of Lake McQueeney’s three sister lakes Lake Wood, Lake Dunlap and Lake Gonzales, Lake McQuee- ney has returned to its normal elevation as of April 21 after construction on its new dam was completed. Construction on Lake McQueeney’s new, $50 million dam was completed this spring. The lake started to be relled on March 17. The return of water to Lake McQueeney is an important milestone to the community, Guada- lupe-Blanco River Authority ocials said in a statement to Community Impact . The details In May 2019, one of three spill gates failed and drained most of Lake Dunlap—a 9-mile, 410-acre stretch of the Guadalupe River east of I-35 in New Braunfels. Two other dams along the Guadalupe River, Lake Wood and Lake Gonzales, also failed. The dam-failures threatened the future of Lake McQueeney. Since state agencies did not have the resources to repair or rebuild the dams, lake residents had to nd a solution, otherwise it would impact lakefront property values, Matt Lake, president of Friends of Lake McQueeney, or FOLM, said. FOLM is a nonprot organization that works to maintain and improve the qual- ity of life for Lake McQueeney residents and visitors. In November 2020, lake residents voted to Property values remain stable after lake relled

Looking back 2016 • Lake Wood Dam fails 2019 • Lake Dunlap Dam fails 2020

Lake McQueeney Water Control & Improvement District No. 1 Lake McQueeney WCID 1 1 Lake Breeze Ski Lodge Inc. 2 Dam

• November: Lake McQueeney area residents approve the creation of the Lake McQueeney Water Control and Improvement District #1 • June: Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority and Lake McQueeney Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 apply for inancial assistance from Texas Water Development Board • July: Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority and Lake McQueeney Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 term sheet approved • September: Engineering agreement between Black & Veatch Corporation and Guadalupe- Blanco River Authority approved 2021 Lake Gonzales Dam fails 2023 Spring: Lake McQueeney dewatered Fall: Construction of new Lake McQueeney Dam begins 2026 Spring: Construction of New Lake McQueeney Dam complete

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SOURCE: LAKE MCQUEENEY WATER CONTROL AND IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT NO. 1COMMUNITY IMPACT

knew the dam would be replaced and the lake would be relled. Lake said it was exciting to see the lake getting full again after three years of having the water emptied. “I think we’ll see a lot more activity amongst the community as the lake rells and people are able to use the lake,” he said.

approve the creation of the Lake McQueeney Water Control Improvement District, or WCID, #1 and later issued a $50 million taxation on themselves to rebuild the dam. Kendra Wray, a realtor with Keller Wil- liams, said the lack of water mainly aected recreational use of Lake McQueeney. She said property values did not decrease because people

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