The concentrations of Cd, Cu, Zn, Fe, and Mn in sediments from lakes around a coal‐powered electric generating plant in southwest Houston, Texas, have been determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The plant had been operational for only about one year at the time of sample collection; therefore, variations of trace metals with depth are considered to be essentially unaffected by the plant. The current concentrations of these trace metals which have been established constitute baseline data for determining future anthropogenic additions. Evidence is also presented to show that Fe and Mn have influenced the distribution of the trace metals studied in these lakes.