The lake is a reservoir created by damming the Pecan Bayou. A wide variety of fish occurs in the lake: largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, white bass, striped bass, white crappie, yellow and flathead catfish, sunfish (perch), and alligator gar. Camping, water skiing, jet skiing, and boating are available. It is home of Lake Brownwood State Park, a area that opened in 1938. Pecan Bayou is a major tributary of the Colorado River. Due to the damming of the area to form Lake Brownwood, the bayou has a shallow depth and little flow downstream from Brownwood. During heavy rains, the bayou often floods. It runs northwest to southeast and serves as a boundary between the cities of Brownwood and Early. As of the census of 2000, 18,813 people, 7,110 households, and 4,664 families resided in the city. The population density was 1,493.2 people per square mile (576.5/km²). The 8,169 housing units averaged 648.4 per square mile (250.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 82.74% White, 5.51% African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 8.47% from other races]], and 2.07% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 21.34% of the population. Of the 7,110 households, 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were not families. About 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.05. In the city, the population was distributed as 27.5% under the age of 18, 12.8% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,325, and for a family was $33,991.