It's a flood control project that is quite large in size.
"Yesterday as I was out there looking down 86 feet from the top to the bottom, I was thinking 'Boy! This is going to be able to hold a lot of water!'" said New Braunfels Mayor Gail Pospisil.
The project is expected to hold almost one billion gallons of water.
Regulatory red tape and an unforeseen snag in the land's ability to hold up such a large dam caused delays to the project.
"It's taken us 13 years, but let me tell you it's worth the wait," said Comal County Precinct 4 Commissioner Jan Kennady. "It is tremendous, and it will save lots of property and perhaps some lives."
The dam sits on an unnamed tributary of the Dry Comal Creek.
"This will definitely have an impact on homes along the Dry Comal Creek in New Braunfels and also the Comal River as well," Pospisil said.
Those in attendance at Thursday's ceremony said there was only one thing missing.
"There were some of us who thought ... it would be nice during the dedication if it had rained just a little bit," Kennady said. "We don't need a flood, but we did pray for some moderate rain."
With the recent drought, it's hard to imagine such a massive project is necessary.
"We sometimes forget how important these dams are, but all we need to do is have one really good rain and people will remember again," Pospisil said.
But you don't have to be a meteorologist to know how the climatology works in South Texas.
"We all know from experience, (when) we have a drought, it usually is followed by heavy rains and/or a flood, Kennady said.
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