Boat Docks, Piers & Walkways
Floating and fixed structures with approach walkways engineered to reach the water across a large vertical range, plus extension and relocation of existing docks.
Lakes We Serve · Highland Lakes, TX
Boat docks, boathouses and retaining walls on Lake Buchanan.
Buchanan is the storage tank at the head of the Highland Lakes, and it is allowed to empty. Nearly 38 feet separate its recorded low from its recorded high — so the only sensible way to build here is for the whole range.
The Design Fact
A working water-supply reservoir, not a constant-level lake.
Buchanan behaves nothing like Marble Falls or LBJ downstream, and a design borrowed from either will fail here.
Lake Buchanan impounds the Colorado River behind Buchanan Dam — a structure over two miles long — across Burnet and Llano counties. Deliberate impoundment began on May 20, 1937 and the dam was completed in 1938, making it the first of the Highland Lakes to be finished; completion is variously dated 1937, 1938 and 1939 across sources. Surface acreage does not agree either: LCRA publishes 22,452 acres, 22,333 is the most commonly cited figure and TPWD lists 22,211. However it is counted, it is the largest of the Highland Lakes by surface area, with 880,356 acre-feet of storage and a maximum depth TPWD puts at about 132 feet.
Conservation pool is 1,020 feet above mean sea level. The recorded low is 983.7 feet, set in 1952; the recorded high is 1,021.4 feet, in 1991 — a spread of nearly 38 feet, and the lake has used a good deal of it in living memory. It stood at 988.41 feet in late December 2011, roughly 23 feet below its historic average for that month, and the drowned townsite of Bluffton reappears when the water drops far enough. In early August 2026 the lake was about 99 percent full.
Shoreline mileage is reported inconsistently — roughly 124 miles in common citation, about 140.6 miles in a TPWD reservoir survey. Either way the waterfront is spread thin around a long shore rather than concentrated in one town, running from Buchanan Dam around to Tow and Bluffton.
Building for the Range
What thirty-eight feet does to a design.
A dock set for full pool can sit high and dry in a drought. That single fact is the biggest driver of marine construction work on this lake.
1
Extension, relocation and rebuild are recurring work
Access structures on Buchanan get lengthened, moved out and rebuilt as the lake cycles. Designing the first version with that in mind — reachable connections, a substructure that can be added to, hardware that can be pulled — costs less than starting over in the next drought.
2
Rock banks on the east side and lower end
The lower lake and east side are classic highland reservoir: rock piles, ledges, chunk-rock banks and steep rocky shoreline. Foundations there are generally drilled and pinned rather than driven, and bank work runs to rock-founded retaining walls rather than fill.
3
Soft, brushy flat coves up the west side
From mid-lake upstream the west side looks like a flatland reservoir — numerous flat coves holding a lot of flooded brush. That is where bulkhead, stabilization and slip-access work makes sense, and where bearing has to be confirmed on site rather than assumed from the east shore.
4
The permit measurement moves with the lake
LCRA measures a dock's maximum distance from shore from the current shoreline, wherever water meets land. On a reservoir with this much vertical travel, that is a moving reference, and it is worth confirming against LCRA's figure for Buchanan before a layout is fixed.
1,020′
Conservation pool, ft msl
983.7′
Recorded low, 1952
1,021.4′
Recorded high, 1991
37.7′
Spread between the two
Permitting
Two LCRA tracks — and one thing Buchanan can do that most Highland Lakes cannot.
Docks and shoreline work are governed by entirely separate rules, and owners routinely assume the dock rule covers both.
Docks. LCRA requires no permit, registration or fee for a residential dock of 1,500 square feet or less. It must still comply with the Safety Standards for Residential Docks on the Highland Lakes — flotation, lighting, access, anchoring and maximum distance from shore. Dilapidated docks are not allowed.
Shoreline work. Bulkheads, seawalls, retaining walls, shoreline stabilization, dredging, filling, boat ramps, boat slips, canal excavation, pier construction and removal of structures affixed below the regulated pool all fall under the Highland Lakes Dredge and Fill Ordinance, effective January 1, 2022. Tier I is notification only, covering work under LCRA's Corps of Engineers Lakewide Permit and non-commercial projects dredging under 500 cubic yards or disturbing under 500 linear feet of shoreline. Tier II requires an LCRA permit at or above those thresholds.
Tier III. Commercial dredge and fill is allowed on only two lakes in the whole chain — Buchanan and Lake LBJ — and then only in designated zones. The Tier III thresholds are 500 or more cubic yards, more than 3 surface acres, or more than 1,500 linear feet of shoreline, occurring 30 or more days a year. Marinas need their own permit under the Highland Lakes Marina Ordinance, updated May 24, 2023, which carries annual fees and bans new community marinas. LCRA runs both scheduled and unscheduled inspections. Residential dock questions go to LCRA at 800-776-5272 ext. 2024; Burnet and Llano counties handle floodplain and building permits above the waterline.
Scope of Work
What Shoretech builds on Lake Buchanan.
Sized for the operating range, and detailed differently on the rock side than in the brushy coves.
Boathouses & Covered Slips
Covered structures and lifts sized against the 1,500-square-foot residential threshold, founded to suit either rock ledge or soft cove bottom.
Retaining Walls, Bulkheads & Stabilization
Rock-founded retaining walls on the east side and steel, vinyl, FRP composite or heavy timber bulkheads in the softer flat coves upstream.
Precision Dredging
Slip and access dredging scoped against the Tier I and Tier II thresholds — and, uniquely on this lake, commercial dredge and fill in the designated zones.
Around the Lake
Two shorelines wearing one name.
Clear water and rock at the dam; turbid water and flooded brush by the time you reach the upper end.
Towns and communities
- Buchanan Dam
- Tow
- Bluffton
- Burnet
- Llano
- Council Creek South and other lakeside subdivisions
Parks, ramps and marinas
- Black Rock Park, LCRA
- Canyon of the Eagles
- Cedar Point
- Burnet County Park
- Llano County Park
- Lake Buchanan Marina and Thunderbird Lodge
- Numerous LCRA-managed public ramps
There is no significant aquatic vegetation on Buchanan, and water clarity runs from clear at the dam to progressively more turbid upstream. Shoretech Marine is based in Trinity, Texas; Lake Buchanan is inside the working footprint and Dave travels as far as a project warrants.
Questions We Hear
Lake Buchanan FAQ.
Do I need an LCRA permit to build a dock on Lake Buchanan?
Not for a residential dock of 1,500 square feet or less — no permit, no registration and no fee. It must still meet LCRA's Safety Standards for Residential Docks: flotation, lighting, access, anchoring and maximum distance from shore. That distance is measured from the current shoreline, which on Buchanan is a moving target, so confirm the figure with LCRA. Dilapidated docks are not allowed.
How far can Lake Buchanan actually drop?
Conservation pool is 1,020 feet above mean sea level. The recorded low is 983.7 feet in 1952 and the recorded high 1,021.4 feet in 1991 — nearly 38 feet apart. It sat at 988.41 feet in late December 2011, and the drowned townsite of Bluffton reappears when it drops far enough. In early August 2026 the lake was about 99 percent full.
What permit covers a retaining wall or dredging?
The Highland Lakes Dredge and Fill Ordinance, effective January 1, 2022. Tier I is notification only, for non-commercial work under 500 cubic yards or 500 linear feet of shoreline. Tier II requires an LCRA permit at or above those thresholds. Tier III is commercial dredge and fill — allowed on only two lakes in the chain, Buchanan and Lake LBJ, and then only in designated zones.
Can I put out no-wake buoys in front of my property?
Yes, within limits. Under LCRA's Lakewide Authorization a property owner may set USCG-approved no-wake buoys up to 50 feet beyond their shoreline or dock. Entities providing public access need a Restricted Area Permit instead.
Nearby Water
Down the chain.
Start With a Conversation
Planning a project on Lake Buchanan?
Tell Dave which side of the lake you are on, how the bank falls away and where the water sat the last time it got low. On Buchanan, the range is the brief.