Lake Waco is a reservoir located within the city limits of Waco, in McLennan County, Texas, which serves as the western border for the city of Waco. The dam is located on the Bosque River. The lake has 79,000 acre feet (97,000,000 m³) of water and is currently run by the Army Corps of Engineers. Lake Waco was raised about 8 feet (2 m) in 2005. This has helped with fishing.

The flood threat to the city of Waco and downstream portions of the Brazos - combined with the need for conservation storage to save millions of gallons of water that were wasted, led local citizens to seek a new reservoir. Through their efforts, Congress authorized the project for construction by the Corps of Engineers.

By law, local interests are required to bear the cost of acquisition of the storage allocated to conservation in the reservoir. A water conservation contract covering repayment of the cost of those features has been approved, and, under its terms, the Brazos River Authority will also contribute its share annually for operation and maintenance of the project.

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land apart from a river, stream, or other form of moving water that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams, which are usually flowing. However most lakes are fed and drained by rivers and streams.

Natural lakes are generally found in mountainous areas, rift zones, and areas with ongoing glaciation. Other lakes are found in endorheic basins or along the courses of mature rivers. In some parts of the world there are many lakes because of chaotic drainage patterns left over from the last Ice Age. All lakes are temporary over geologic time scales, as they will slowly fill in with sediments or spill out of the basin containing them.

Many lakes are artificial and are constructed for industrial or agricultural use, for hydro-electric power generation or domestic water supply, or for aesthetic or recreational purposes.

Waco (/ˈweɪkoʊ/) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. It is situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2010 population of 124,805, an increase of almost 10 percent since the 2000 census. The Waco Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of just McLennan County, which had a 2010 population of 234,906.

Prior to the founding of Waco in 1849, a Wichita Native American group known as the "Waco" (Spanish: Hueco or Huaco) lived on the land of present-day downtown Waco. In 1824 Thomas M. Duke explored the area and reported to Stephen F. Austin describing the village: "This town is situated on the West Bank of the River. They have a spring almost as cold as ice itself. All we want is some Brandy and Sugar to have Ice Toddy. They have about 400 acres (1.6 km²) planted in corn, beans, pumpkins, and melons and that tended in good order. I think they cannot raise more than One Hundred Warriors." After Austin aborted the first attempt to destroy their village in 1825, he made a treaty with them. The Waco eventually moved out of the region, settling north near present-day Fort Worth. In 1872 they joined other Wichita tribes on a reservation in Oklahoma. In 1902 the Waco received allotments of land and became official US citizens.