Park News

Dredging of Bachman Lake in northwest Dallas sets off massive makeover

It looks pretty enough but soon it will be prettier.

Courtesy photo

A lake in northwest Dallas is due for a dredging. In February, the city will initiate dredging activities at Bachman Lake, to remove accumulated sediment and get rid of trash and debris.

The Dallas City Council approved the dredging contract in October. The contractor will begin setting up equipment in late January and begin dredging activities in February.

According to a release, dredging will remove 370,000 cubic yards of accumulated sediment from the lake and restore water depth to a minimum of eight feet. This eight-foot depth prevents invasive aquatic vegetation from taking hold and removes debris and trash from the lake bottom. The ultimate goal is to improve water quality and restore the lake to recreational levels.

The dredging will begin once a dredging barge is on site. The contractor will use the machinery to pump silt to an off-site location. That slurry will be "dewatered" to load onto trucks for offsite disposal. After the dewatered sediment is trucked off, the water will be clarified and pumped back into Bachman Lake.

Bachman Reservoir is a 132-acre reservoir on Bachman Branch, a tributary of the Trinity River, located on the north side of Dallas Love Field. It was built in 1903 by the city of Dallas for water supply, but is currently used for recreation only. It has a group that cares about it, called Friends of Bachman Lake.

The last time it was dredged was in 2003.

This dredging is the first phase of the Bachman Lake Dredging and Dam and Spillway Rehabilitation Project.

The next phase of the project includes the rehabilitation of the Bachman dam and spillway. Those are in the final design phase, and will include structural and stability recommendations to ensure dam safety and regulatory compliance, minimize flood risk, and allow recreational activity in the future.

The tentative date for the completion of the final design, as well as the bidding of the Bachman Dam and Spillway Rehabilitation Project, is Winter 2022/2023. Dallas Water Utilities expects the Bachman Lake Dam and Spillway Improvements Project to be completed by Spring 2025.

The city advises that there will be temporary disruptions to park users, primarily the closure of the south parking lot next to the Dallas Rowing Club, to allow dredging crews to perform their work.

Lake users are also advised to steer clear of the barge and floating pipe that will pump out the silt that has settled in Bachman Lake. Boaters should keep a safe distance from the dredging pipe (75 feet) and barge (25 feet).

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happy go lucky plano

Dallas neighbor dazzles on new list of happiest cities in America

Photo courtesy of Visit Plano

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A new happiness study has ranked Plano one of the happiest cities in America this year, and it once again landed on top as the happiest city in Texas.

Plano has moved up on the list and ranks as the 16th happiest U.S. city in 2026. Last year, it was 17th.

WalletHub determined the happiest cities in America based on 29 relevant metrics based on "positive-psychology research" across three main categories: emotional and physical wellbeing, income and employment, and community and environment. As with most WalletHub studies, it compared the 182 most populous U.S. cities.

Fremont, California claimed the top spot as the happiest city nationwide for another year. Bismark, North Dakota and Scottsdale, Arizona, respectfully, rounded out the top three.

Here's how WalletHub ranked Plano across the three key dimensions:

No. 15 – Emotional and physical wellbeing
No. 22 – Community and environment
No. 72 – Income and employment

Plano and its residents have continued improving their city year after year, whether its through opening new bakeries and restaurants, inviting fun pop-ups for locals, or having a strong job market.

Plano's happiness far outshines the rest of North Texas; according to WalletHub, Irving is the 70th happiest city in the country, the third-happiest in Texas, and the second-happiest city in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro. Garland ranked farther behind as No. 92 nationally, and more DFW cities ranked even lower: Grand Prairie (No. 106), Dallas (No. 111), Fort Worth (No. 113), and Arlington (No. 119).

The report additionally found that Dallasites spend the third-most amount of time at work in the nation. The city ranked No. 180 in the national analysis of U.S. cities with the "fewest work hours."

WalletHub also emphasized that money doesn't buy happiness — after a certain point.

"For decades, researchers have explored the science of happiness and identified several core factors, including mental well-being, physical health, strong social ties, job satisfaction, and financial stability," the report said. "Still, income has its limits — studies show that earning more than $75,000 a year does not lead to greater happiness."

Six-figure earners in Plano aren't necessarily as happy as those who don't make as much, as a separate financial study from SmartAsset revealed these big earners are only taking home about $72,653 after taxes and adjusted for the cost of living.

This is how other Texas cities ranked in the report:

No. 39 – Austin
No. 128 – Houston
No. 135 – Lubbock
No. 137 – El Paso
No. 140 – Laredo
No. 143 – Amarillo
No. 150 – Brownsville
No. 154 – San Antonio
No. 155 – Corpus Christi

wallethub plano reports