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Braidwood Lake, owned by Commonwealth Edison, is a partially perched cooling lake. Constructed in the late 1970s, Braidwood Lake was impounded in 1980-81 with water pumped from the Kankakee River. Several surface mined pits were flooded within the lake, so fisheries management actually began in 1978 before the lake existed. The lake was considered a semi-private area used by employees of Com Ed until the fall of 1981, when the Illinois Department of Conservation (now the IDNR) acquired a long term lease agreement from Com Ed allowing for general public access. Braidwood Lake currently is used for fishing, waterfowl hunting, fossil hunting by permit and as a waterfowl refuge.
