Brandy Branch Reservoir
Hallsville, Harrison County, Texas, United States
A former power-plant cooling reservoir in East Texas, dived from the public boat ramp. Dense hydrilla, standing timber and stumps fill the shallows.
Brandy Branch Reservoir was built to cool the Pirkey power plant, which closed in 2023. The plant's owner runs a free public ramp on FM 3251, south of I-20. Divers start at the ramp and head NNW about 200 yards to clear the weed beds. Dense hydrilla covers much of the surface in summer. Standing timber, logs and placed brush piles fill the lake. These pose an entanglement risk. The reservoir reaches about 50 ft (15 m). Water below about 55 ft near the dam is dark. Warm-water reports date from before the plant closed. Fly a dive flag near the ramp. No official notice confirms or bans scuba here.