April 2026

From Dirt to Dam:
Earthwork Complete at Lake Ralph Hall

Crews have reached a major milestone at Lake Ralph Hall: completing placement of more than five million cubic yards of earth to form the dam’s embankment. With this work done, the project is around 85% complete.

This massive earthen structure forms the backbone of the dam:

• Makes up nearly 30% of the overall dam structure (with the remainder constructed of soil cement and concrete)
• Stretches 2.3 miles across the landscape
• Rises 115 feet at its tallest point

With the embankment complete, crews are now focused on final structural elements. Work continues to finish the intake tower, which will draw water from the lake for treatment, along with placement of concrete for the spillway (including its zig-zag labyrinth weir) and soil cement along the upstream face of the dam to protect against erosion.

The full dam remains on track for completion this summer, bringing Lake Ralph Hall one step closer to delivering water for generations.

Looking across the dam embankment

Construction on the "zigzag" labyrinth weir at the top of the spillway

Meet Randy Sliger:
Managing a Legacy Project

Large infrastructure projects like Lake Ralph are often a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Success relies on experienced professionals working for years, behind-the-scenes. 

For Randy Sliger, that means serving as the day-in, day-out project manager for the #LakeRalphHall construction crews. Upper Trinity Regional Water District took the unique route of acting as its own Construction Manager at Risk for the Lake Ralph Hall project. Randy joined the District in June of 1995, and today he serves as the linchpin that keeps all the engineers and contractors working in tandem.

Randy’s work is about more than construction milestones. He sees Lake Ralph Hall as a generational opportunity to provide a reliable water supply for Upper Trinity communities while also delivering meaningful economic benefits to the surrounding area.

“It’s a special privilege to be part of a project like this,” Randy said. “We’re building something that will serve communities for decades to come.”

Watch Randy’s full video below: