Imperial Reservoir Puts a Working Lake in Dry Country

Imperial Reservoir sits four miles south of Grandfalls in northern Pecos County. It is not a natural lake on the Pecos River. Water is pumped from the river through Imperial Ditch into the off-channel reservoir. Pecos County Water Improvement District No. 2 owns and operates it for irrigation and recreation.

The reservoir was probably completed in 1910. At its designed level, it covers about 1,530 acres and holds roughly 6,000 acre-feet behind a 25-foot earthfill dam. The broad blue patch on the map is working water infrastructure as much as a lake.

Imperial Reservoir is stop 50 on the Permian Basin West Loop. Egrets, killdeer, snowy plovers, other shorebirds, and migratory waterfowl use the lake. Pyrrhuloxia, lark buntings, scaled quail, and sparrows work the higher ground. The irrigation system and the wildlife stop share the same water, which is the surprise on the north Pecos County map.