Lake Wichita projects advance forward

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (TNN) - An anonymous donation is jumpstarting one of three projects for Lake Wichita.

The $500,000 donation matches a grant given by Texas Parks and Wildlife and will fund a boardwalk.

“Me and my friend we come out here and just sit out in the pickup and eat lunch and catch up,” Tammie Horton said.

Horton takes in the view of the lake during lunch.

She appreciates living so close to it and being able to enjoy the sights.

New projects on the lake hoping to make that easier for everyone.

“There’s a lot of folks who have such great memories and stories and we want to find a place to rally around that and capture that,” Stewart Harvey, Lake Wichita Friends of Reservoir Chapter executive director, said.

The new boardwalk will go next to the remains of the Lake Wichita pavilion.

“You can see the old piers that are sticking up out of the water, it’s kind of a good connectivity between the past and the present and the effort to revitalize the lake,” Harvey said.

This is just one of three projects, the others including a veteran’s plaza and revitalizing the boat ramp, which has a match-able grant from Texas Parks and Wildlife itself.

“The clock is ticking on that one as well,” Harvey said.

To make sure things are finished in time, Harvey says they wouldn’t be where they are without the help of the city.

“To provide those renderings and those cost estimates, so that we can look at, review and make sure we’re spending the money in a wise and judicious manner,” he said.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the help of donors.

“At the end of the day we’re seeing the lake being used in a way that it hasn’t been before decades past," Harvey said. "The quality of life opportunities are going up with each project.”

“It’s helping the city, the residents and even visitors that want to come over,” Horton said.

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