Town Center North Lake

Considered by many (especially anyone related to The Water Expert) to be the jewel of Morrison Ranch, here is a picture of the lake and fountain with the tanks in the background, taken last week:


Actually, I have to agree that it is one of the most beautiful sites in the Ranch, and no doubt will be the most photographed scene for years to come. The Mister and I were addicted to a daily visit when it was being built back in 2002, getting excited about the most mundane issues, like culverts for fish houses, and the edges and drains, and especially, the fountain. Here is a snapshot of The Water Expert standing next to the fountain base, at a depth of 9 feet:



He could recite all the statistics you would ever want to know and many that you would not, but the basic idea is that the lake covers about 6 acres and is about 12 feet deep in some spots. It holds 55 acre-feet of water which, for the non-farmers among us, is around 18 million gallons of water. All the water is reclaimed water and is used for irrigation of the landscape in Morrison Ranch; and the lake's ecosystem is balanced with the use of various types of fish. Residents can fish the lake, but it is catch and release.

It was designed with a constant radius, smooth curve edge to remind people of the farm ponds used for water storage re-use in agriculture. It is supposed to look man-made, not like a natural pond, because we want to hearken back to the agricultural theme. Here's a shot taken from the air in March 2005, when it was still very new, but the landscaping had taken root:



Okay, I'll admit to being related (by marriage) to The Water Expert; I think it's the jewel of the Ranch.