Corps to Release Water to Hefner
Corps to release water from Canton to Hefner
The Army Corps of Engineers will release 15,000 acre-feet of water from Lake Canton to Lake Hefner on January 22, Oklahoma City officials announce.
The water will begin to arrive in Oklahoma City around January 25. “Oklahoma City owns storage in Lake Canton,” said Marsha Slaughter, P.E., Director, City of Oklahoma City Utilities. “The transfer is necessary to ensure Oklahoma City’s water supply remains replenished.”
The release from Lake Canton, which is located in Western Oklahoma on the North Canadian River, will add up to three feet to the lake, depending on weather conditions.
According to Slaughter, the drought-laden lake, one of the City’s source water supplies, is down approximately 10 feet. “There is still a year’s supply of water in the lake,” she said. “This is the water we send to the Hefner Water Treatment Plant where it is treated and then distributed to the community as drinking water.”
Slaughter noted that heavy spring rains could possibly fill Lake Hefner in as little as eight to 10 days. “The drought has taken a toll on communities statewide,” she said. “Oklahoma City is fortunate to be in as good of a position as we find ourselves.”
Oklahoma City relies on a 100-mile pipeline that carries water from Lake Atoka and McGee Creek in Southeastern Oklahoma to the Draper Water Treatment Plant, located in south Oklahoma City. Recent rains filled McGee Creek and brought Lake Atoka within a foot of being full.
The City of Oklahoma City has mutual agreements with 14 surrounding communities including Edmond and Moore. These agreements facilitate the sale of drinking water to fellow Oklahomans throughout the region.
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