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Overview
Lake Palestine is a roughly 25,560-acre reservoir on the Neches River in Anderson, Cherokee, Henderson, and Smith counties in East Texas, southeast of Tyler. The dam was completed in the 1960s and is operated by the Upper Neches River Municipal Water Authority primarily for water supply, with recreation as a major secondary use.
At conservation pool the lake has about 170 miles of shoreline, an average depth near 16 feet, and a maximum depth of about 58 feet. Piney woods shoreline, creek arms, flats, and submerged timber create classic East Texas warmwater habitat across a long, winding basin.
Palestine is popular for largemouth bass, crappie, catfish, and white bass, with fisheries managed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Public parks, marinas, and boat ramps around the lake serve Tyler, Palestine, and surrounding East Texas communities.
Water levels are managed around a conservation pool of 345 feet above mean sea level (NGVD29). The project is a water-supply reservoir without a dedicated USACE-style flood pool. Downstream on the Neches system, B.A. Steinhagen Lake and Sam Rayburn (Angelina/Neches) are major East Texas reservoirs, so monitoring Palestine levels remains important for boating, fishing, and dock access.
Lake Palestine is a 25,560-acre reservoir on the Neches River managed by Upper Neches River Municipal Water Authority.