Lake Hefner at record low water levels, when will city buy Canton water?

[jn1780]

They could release if they wanted to, but water levels are nowhere near critical and spring rains are hopefully coming.
Plus Robert Redford isn't currently filming a movie at the lake.

[OKCRT]

Hefner will prob be full soon as it's getting dumped on tonight as well as Canton and Overholster.

[ljbab728]

Hefner will prob be full soon as it's getting dumped on tonight as well as Canton and Overholster.

OKC received less than 2 inches of rain in the last round. While that is extremely nice for this time of year, it will come nowhere near filling up Hefner.

[Snowman]

Hefner will prob be full soon as it's getting dumped on tonight as well as Canton and Overholster.

It also largely missed Canton's catchment area, not entirely but little enough it likely just got absorbed by the ground it hit.

[Bill Robertson]

The 16 day out GFS shows total precip for central/western Oklahoma at less than a inch. Let's hope for a wet late March and April.

[SOONER8693]

Was up by Lake Hefner on Wednesday for the first time in a couple of months. From the Parkway, it looked like the Lake was brim full. Anyone know what is the status of Canton since a lot of rain has fallen?

[mkjeeves]

Was up by Lake Hefner on Wednesday for the first time in a couple of months. From the Parkway, it looked like the Lake was brim full. Anyone know what is the status of Canton since a lot of rain has fallen?

Just over normal level. They were releasing water up until this morning.

[mkjeeves]

We're sending water downriver from Overholser.

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?07241000

[Snowman]

Was up by Lake Hefner on Wednesday for the first time in a couple of months. From the Parkway, it looked like the Lake was brim full. Anyone know what is the status of Canton since a lot of rain has fallen?

They have been hovering around the normal reserve pool at full for the last year, occasionally a bit into the flood pool

[OKCRT]

It appears they don't let Canton get much above full before they release water. I assume they don't want much in the flood pool because I never see more than .05% when I check. They release water quite often to keep it right at the full level.

[mkjeeves]

I'm guessing the flood pool is managed for flood control where they only retain water in it when there's already too much water down stream to send more. Flood control is one of the primary reasons Canton was built. The flood pool is there to impound water when there is a lot of rainfall both up and down stream and other lakes downstream are full.

[gopokes88]

I'm guessing the flood pool is managed for flood control where they only retain water in it when there's already too much water down stream to send more. Flood control is one of the primary reasons Canton was built. The flood pool is there to impound water when there is a lot of rainfall both up and down stream and other lakes downstream are full.

Exactly. It's a FLOOD pool. The entire point of it is too reduce the damage from floods. Leaving water in the flood pool defeats its purpose.

[Midtowner]

Haven't heard much about this lately.

[OKCretro]

Haven't heard much about this lately.

I thought about this thread a few months back.

Is Canton back to full as well?

is the lake over by Clinton full again?

[Midtowner]

I thought about this thread a few months back.

Is Canton back to full as well?

is the lake over by Clinton full again?

About 2 feet above where it should be.

[Teo9969]

Bump - wonder if they're considering a release if we get any rains this week? If I recall, last time we pulled from Canton we did it during an inopportune time and lost a chunk of water to the riverbed because we released during a dry time when Lake Hefner was already super low.

[jn1780]

Bump - wonder if they're considering a release if we get any rains this week? If I recall, last time we pulled from Canton we did it during an inopportune time and lost a chunk of water to the riverbed because we released during a dry time when Lake Hefner was already super low.

There's no need right now. Both Hefner and Canton are over 100%. Hefner would just release water downstream if it gets too far above 100%.
Not to say there won't be a low water problem at Hefner this summer, but right now the opposite problem would occur if water gets released.


Looking into the future, hopefully the second Atoka pipeline here in a few years will relieve some pressure off of Hefner.

https://www.owrb.ok.gov/supply/droug...oirstorage.php

[bombermwc]

Not sure why we haven't flooded the Draper expansion either. Seems like it would be something that we should do to plan for the future needs of the metro. And that's better than Canton because you don't lose so much in the transit.

[Snowman]

Not sure why we haven't flooded the Draper expansion either. Seems like it would be something that we should do to plan for the future needs of the metro. And that's better than Canton because you don't lose so much in the transit.

It seems like capacity on the pipeline relative to demand is so tight in recent years they have generally been stuck in the process of refilling Draper from dips when it is down from maintenance.

While they did build the capability to shift untreated water between the two network halves a few years ago, they prefer not to shift water from Overholser/Hefner to Draper, as as the water quality before treating is much better at Draper. With the Overholser/Hefner system more vulnerable to drought and a second pipeline feeding a new lake on the horizon, it makes sense the cross connect would have mainly been intended for one way flow, even if it technically could flow either direction.

[Bill Robertson]

There's no need right now. Both Hefner and Canton are over 100%. Hefner would just release water downstream if it gets too far above 100%.
Not to say there won't be a low water problem at Hefner this summer, but right now the opposite problem would occur if water gets released.


Looking into the future, hopefully the second Atoka pipeline here in a few years will relieve some pressure off of Hefner.

https://www.owrb.ok.gov/supply/droug...oirstorage.php

If Hefner had stayed this full for this long in the mid 20teens I'd still own a sailboat.

[gopokes88]

There's no need right now. Both Hefner and Canton are over 100%. Hefner would just release water downstream if it gets too far above 100%.
Not to say there won't be a low water problem at Hefner this summer, but right now the opposite problem would occur if water gets released.


Looking into the future, hopefully the second Atoka pipeline here in a few years will relieve some pressure off of Hefner.

https://www.owrb.ok.gov/supply/droug...oirstorage.php

I wonder why Lugert-Altus always seems empty? Used heavily for farming?

[Jersey Boss]

I wonder why Lugert-Altus always seems empty? Used heavily for farming?

Cotton. Cotton requires a large amount of water to raise. There are large cotton farms around Altus and by prior agreements those farmers are high on the ability to draw list.

[Ward]

Altus Lugert?

I was born and raised in the area and still have a lot of family there, some involved in farming.

Yes, the primary purpose, going back to the 40's and 50's, was canals being built to provide waters. At the time, there was a lot more cotton farming, and there is still a lot, although wheat farming has taken over a good bit of the cotton farming.

Man oh man, what memories, I grew up at Quartz Mountain State Park and Lodge, and Craterville, and such. Did tons of fishing at Lake Lugert as well as camping.. Place is actually beautiful, if you slow down and look. It's a great place.

[jn1780]

If Hefner had stayed this full for this long in the mid 20teens I'd still own a sailboat.

In the 2010's, the Atoka pipeline wasn't at full capacity due to pump upgrades and maintenance which caused Draper to come way down. They also expanded water capacity at the water treatment plant at Draper during this timeframe. So it was bad timing that Atoka wasn't at 100% during a drought.

I bet production is more balanced between the two lakes now then it was back in the 2010's.

[billokc]

I swear some people in this thread are complete idiots not knowing how our city lakes are supplied and how they're not connected.