Boat Docks & Piers
Fixed and floating structures inside the 70-foot reach limit, with lateral clearances measured from the 355.0 takeline and lighting where the design calls for it.
Lakes We Serve · Neches River, TX
Boat docks, boathouses and bulkheads on Lake Palestine.
One water authority owns the shoreline strip here, and — unusually — it publishes exactly what it will approve. Pile diameters, bolt specs, wall materials, how far you may reach, what a boathouse may contain. Build to the standard and review goes quickly.
The Permitting Reality
Two permits, in order, from one office at Blackburn Crossing Dam.
The Upper Neches River Municipal Water Authority owns and operates Lake Palestine and the dam, under Certificate of Adjudication No. 06-3254C.
Everything on this lake runs through UNRMWA — office at Blackburn Crossing Dam, mailing address PO Box 1965, Palestine, TX 75802, (903) 876-2237. No Corps district, no county, no city sits in the shoreline chain. And unlike a great many Texas lake owners, UNRMWA publishes its rules, which is worth knowing before you talk to anyone about a design.
A waterfront owner needs both of the following. First, a Limited Use Permit (LUP) — an annual permit that gives the abutting owner any rights at all in the strip between the takeline and the water. Published cost is $25.00 per year plus $0.05 for each linear foot of frontage at the take line, obtained at the Authority office at the dam. Second, a Construction Permit — published at $50.00 and valid 180 days — required before building piers, boathouses, boat ramps, bulkheads, docks or any other structure, and required for placing or operating any structure, or excavating or placing fill, at or below elevation 355.0 feet msl. No construction permit will be issued without a current LUP.
Repair or renovation that does not change the footprint of an existing permitted structure — replacing boards on a pier, for instance — generally does not require a permit. A significant redesign after the permit issues requires an amendment and another fee. The Authority's guidance closes with a line worth reading twice: in all matters relating to the permit to construct, the decision of the General Manager is final.
One caveat on the money. The fee figures above come from the Authority's published guidance dated October 2020 and reposted in October 2023; whether they remain current is a question for the Authority office, and Shoretech confirms live fees and forms as part of the project rather than quoting from a PDF.
Design to the Published Standard
The numbers UNRMWA has already told you.
Most of what gets a Lake Palestine submittal sent back is dimensional, and every one of these limits is published in advance. Designing inside them is the whole trick.
1
Seventy feet, and the lines beside you
No structure may extend more than 70 linear feet from the shoreline at normal pool (345.0 msl), measured perpendicular to the shoreline, except by variance — and anything reaching past 70 feet needs continuous lighting. Laterally, no structure may come within 10 linear feet of an adjacent property line extended from the 355.0 takeline, though the Authority allocates spacing differently for lots in coves. In a channel, nothing may occupy more than a third of the width or come within 10 feet of the centerline.
2
What a bulkhead may be made of
Concrete, soil cement, masonry or cement block, pressure treated lumber (no creosote), stone, or sheet piling of minimum 8-gauge steel or PVC. The wall must not sit below 345.0 msl as shown on the plat of record, and not above 345.0 without Authority approval. Retaining walls must be built so as to improve the shoreline alignment — and where an eroded area is approved for reclamation, the backfill must itself be reclaimed from the reservoir.
3
Pile, bolt and hardware minimums
The Authority's published minimum standards call for posts and pilings driven half their length into the lake bed with a minimum 6-inch top diameter, or heavy-wall steel pipe at a minimum of 2-7/8 inches. All bolts 1/2 inch or larger, and hot-dipped galvanized. These are floor values, not targets — on a lake with standing timber and soft banks there are good reasons to exceed them.
4
What a boathouse may contain
Two wetslips plus a personal watercraft slip. No living quarters, no kitchens, no toilets, no plumbing fixtures of any kind. The covered sitting area may not exceed 400 square feet and a deck at the terminus may not exceed 256 square feet. Boathouse design here is an exercise in getting real comfort inside a fixed envelope.
What We Build Here
Full-scope waterfront work on Lake Palestine.
Shoretech is based in Trinity and serves waterfronts across Texas and western Louisiana. Every scope below is drawn to the Authority's published standards from the first sketch.
Custom Boathouses
Two wetslips and a PWC slip, a 400-square-foot covered sitting area and a 256-square-foot terminus deck — designed for East Texas heat and open-gable airflow.
Seawalls, Bulkheads & Retaining Walls
Steel or PVC sheet piling, concrete, soil cement, masonry, stone or pressure treated timber — matched to the sandy loams and clays of the Neches basin, and set to improve the shoreline alignment.
Precision Dredging
All dredging on this lake requires an Authority permit — including projects where the Corps of Engineers requires no permit or notice — and must follow Corps rules. Material is pumped for backfill reuse instead of trucked off.
Water, Bottom and Bank
Ten vertical feet of Authority ground above a very steady waterline.
Spillway and normal conservation pool is 345.0 feet msl. The 100-year flood elevation is 355.0 — and that 355.0 line is the takeline.
UNRMWA owns the strip between 345.0 and 355.0 in fee in almost all cases, and holds a flood easement over it in the rare exceptions. Either way, use of that strip is prohibited except by permit — which is why essentially every dock, boathouse and bulkhead on this lake sits on Authority property under permit, and why the permitted inventory is large and the replacement cycle steady.
The working water level, on the other hand, is comparatively calm: TPWD reports typical fluctuation of about 2.2 feet. Compared with a flood-control lake that can move eight feet in a normal year, that stability makes fixed structures straightforward to design here.
What a contractor actually hits is piney-woods reservoir bottom. There is substantial standing inundated timber, concentrated above the Highway 155 crossing and in the creek arms, and heavy vegetation including hydrilla in the upper end and creek arms — Kickapoo Creek notably. Water is moderately clear. Banks are the sandy loams and clays typical of the Neches basin rather than rock, which means sheet pile and driven timber behave predictably and tie-back design carries the load.
25,560
Surface acres
135
Miles of shoreline
58′
Maximum depth
2.2′
Typical annual fluctuation
Around the Lake
Tyler's lake, eighteen miles northwest to southeast.
Communities we serve here
- Chandler
- Coffee City
- Frankston
- Bullard
- Berryville
- Dogwood City
- Emerald Bay
- Tyler
Typical Lake Palestine projects
- Permitted dock replacement
- Two-slip boathouses
- Sheet pile bulkheads
- Retaining walls
- Shoreline reclamation
- Slip dredging
Lake Palestine spans Anderson, Cherokee, Henderson and Smith counties on the Neches River, impounded by Blackburn Crossing Dam about four miles east of Frankston. Construction started in 1960 and the original dam was completed 13 June 1962. Five public boat launches provide access, with more than a dozen private marinas, motels and campgrounds offering additional ramps and services — Flat Creek Marina among the named facilities — and the Lake Palestine Yacht Club is based on the lake. Tyler is roughly 12 to 15 miles northeast.
Questions We Hear
Lake Palestine FAQ.
What permits do I need to build a dock on Lake Palestine?
Two, and you need both. First a Limited Use Permit, an annual permit that gives an abutting owner any rights at all in the strip between the takeline and the water. Second a Construction Permit, valid 180 days, required before building piers, boathouses, boat ramps, bulkheads, docks or any other structure, and required for placing or operating any structure or excavating or placing fill at or below elevation 355.0 feet msl. No construction permit will be issued without a current Limited Use Permit. Both come from the Upper Neches River Municipal Water Authority office at Blackburn Crossing Dam.
How far can a Lake Palestine dock extend from shore?
No structure may extend more than 70 linear feet from the shoreline at normal pool, 345.0 msl, measured perpendicular to the shoreline, except by variance. Anything reaching past 70 feet needs continuous lighting. No structure may extend laterally within 10 linear feet of an adjacent property line extended from the 355.0 msl takeline, though the Authority allocates spacing differently for lots in coves, and no structure may occupy more than a third of any channel width or come within 10 feet of the channel centerline.
Do I need a permit to repair an existing pier?
Repair or renovation that does not change the footprint of an existing permitted structure — replacing boards on a pier, for example — generally does not require a permit. A significant redesign after a permit is issued requires an amendment and another fee. Because the line between repair and redesign is a judgment call, we confirm it with the Authority before starting rather than after.
What can a boathouse include on Lake Palestine?
Boathouses are limited to two wetslips plus a personal watercraft slip, with no living quarters, kitchens, toilets or any plumbing fixtures. The covered sitting area may not exceed 400 square feet and a deck at the terminus may not exceed 256 square feet. Designing to those limits from the first sketch is far cheaper than redrawing after review.
Does Shoretech work on Lake Palestine?
Lake Palestine sits inside Shoretech's service area across Texas and western Louisiana. Dave is based in Trinity and travels as far as a project warrants. Call 936-662-5100 to talk through your frontage, your permit status and the build.
Nearby Water
More East Texas lakes.
Start With a Conversation
Planning a project on Lake Palestine?
Tell Dave how much frontage you have at the takeline, whether your Limited Use Permit is current, and what you want the finished waterfront to do. Design to the published standard, and the rest follows.