Tucked away in northeast Texas, Lake Gilmer was the last major reservoir built in the state, more than a decade ago. Local officials said they had intended to share construction costs and water with a new power plant, but the power company backed out, leaving the City of Gilmer with the bill.

Rather than serve city or industrial customers as a water source, the lake is mostly used for bass fishing.

Nonetheless, Texas’ interest in reservoirs is reviving as the drought persists and growing cities scramble for new water supplies. The state’s water planners envision 26 large new reservoirs over the next half-century, at a cost of $13.6 billion. Though few analysts think all of them will be built, a handful of proposals are inching forward, according to the Texas Water Development Board.

Reservoirs are an “efficient way to capture storm water,” said Thomas E. Taylor, the executive director of the Upper Trinity Regional Water District, which wants to build a $270 million reservoir known as Lake Ralph Hall northeast of Dallas.