it would appear that the storage amount is still incorrect. 62% at an elevation of 1610 feet would give 228K acre feet not the reported 74K acre feet, no?

Whatever the sport with the surfboard and wing foil is called those guys were all over that point and grabbing some serious air.

Wind surfing.

it would appear that the storage amount is still incorrect. 62% at an elevation of 1610 feet would give 228K acre feet not the reported 74K acre feet, no?

nevermind, I was thinking the flood control pool was the normal pool. MY GOD, what a flood control facility Canton is. ...

We had not been by Hefner in awhile and it looked good yesterday. Whatever the sport with the surfboard and wing foil is called those guys were all over that point and grabbing some serious air.

Kiteboarding

crashing, with style

I've been thinking about riding out to Canton on my motorcycle, and would do it this weekend but for all of the rain in the forecast. Ah, what the heck, might do it anyway. That's why God made rain suits.

crashing, with style

To infinity and beyond!

I was told that Altus (sw ok) has lifted their water restrictions to level one which is basically no restriction.

I guess nothing was learned over the past years. They should at least go to a mandatory every other day or something.

Those cotton farmers will have that lake drained to 40% by autumn. That's how they roll down there. They also aren't incentivized to conserve when they can just drain the lake.

Kiteboarding

How right you are. Always wanted to get into in lieu of no ocean waves here. You rarely, if ever, see kiteboarders in the Pacific. More of a South Padre thing.

I took some lessons...enough to figure out I needed to be in a lot better physical shape to have fun and get anywhere with it.

This was taken this AM:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/hefner061515.jpg

Yeah I just drove by and its risen quite a bit the last couple days, very noticeable. Water over the spillway between holes 13 and 14 on the North Course

Eufaula is going to be in big trouble by Thursday night.

Today Canton officially crossed the threshold to LESS that a 5' deficit to the top of the conservation pool. There is still a lot of water missing, but it's the highest it has been in years, and I'll bet it's looking pretty great.

any pics from our Canton friends? we sure wish you all the best and so happy you are getting much needed rains (and we'd love to see the progress)!

any pics from our Canton friends? we sure wish you all the best and so happy you are getting much needed rains (and we'd love to see the progress)!

Many of the Canton folks seem to think of us OKCers as evil doers for claiming our water rights.

Today Canton officially crossed the threshold to LESS that a 5' deficit to the top of the conservation pool. There is still a lot of water missing, but it's the highest it has been in years, and I'll bet it's looking pretty great.

Wanted to bump this topic since it appears that Canton has a chance to reach normal levels over the next couple days. Who woulda thunk it this time last year.

Meh, still needs FOUR FEET and 14K acre/ft to reach normal elevation. It will hopefully pick up a bunch more, but doubt it will reach normal elevation (top of conservation pool).

Meh, still needs FOUR FEET and 14K acre/ft to reach normal elevation. It will hopefully pick up a bunch more, but doubt it will reach normal elevation (top of conservation pool).


While hitting the top would be nice, even three or four months ago getting to the current level seemed unlikely

I don't disagree with this; I was only responding to OKCRT's overly-optimistic suggestion that the lake would hit normal levels over the next couple of days. It won't.

Looks like Canton is only expected to get less than an inch more of rain. So last night was the main show.

looks like canton is only expected to get less than an inch more of rain. So last night was the main show.

about 3 feet below normal so i call that normal,almost. :d I that rains would have been 30 miles further to the west the lake would prob be full right now. Still hope for more rain over the next few days.

Lol

Ok, so Canton lake went from 1611.5 to 1611.9 in the past two days with about 2 to 3 inches of rain. 1615.40 is considered normal elevation. If Canton received the heavier amounts of the rain we saw to the southeast of the metro it would probably be a little bit above the 80 percent level, but still have a ways to go toward being normal.

I'm happy with Canton's significant improvement this year, but bad math makes my brain hurt. lol

How are Hefner's water levels holding through this relatively dry last couple of months?

I drive by all the time and it still looks to be quite full. Maybe even a little over.

96% full as of today

USGS Current Conditions for USGS 07159550 Lake Hefner at Oklahoma City, OK (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ok/nwis/uv?site_no=07159550)

Maybe you all can fill me in but it seems like OK has gotten fairly steady rain even once the late spring deluges stopped.

For comparison's sake, it has probably rained at most 4 times in Dallas since mid June and most of the eastern 1/3 of Texas is back in drought.

Yeah Hefner remains nice and full. I have ridden around it a couple of times in the past couple of weeks and it looks great. Canton, on the other hand, could still use water. Rode my motorcycle out there on Sunday and it was still well short of the waterline on the rip rap, but at least now looks like an actual lake.

Ran around it earlier today and from where it was a couple months ago looks to have gone down about 1 foot.

The waterline on the rip rap on the west side is easily visible, so to me that means it's certainly not full

How is Canton lake doing? Is it back to normal? I checked out their FB page and association page but no updates since posts about OKC taking water.

How is Canton lake doing? Is it back to normal? I checked out their FB page and association page but no updates since posts about OKC taking water.

3' low.

Canton Lake (http://www.swt-wc.usace.army.mil/CANT.lakepage.html)

It doesn't really matter how much water is in Hefner, the new pumping facility can suck it from over-flowing to dry in 5 months. The City successfully made the size of the drain bigger without increasing the intake capacity.

It doesn't really matter how much water is in Hefner, the new pumping facility can suck it from over-flowing to dry in 5 months. The City successfully made the size of the drain bigger without increasing the intake capacity.

Not sure about this ? They have a canal as big as a road that runs from the North Canadian. All they have to do is make it rain.....

It doesn't really matter how much water is in Hefner, the new pumping facility can suck it from over-flowing to dry in 5 months. The City successfully made the size of the drain bigger without increasing the intake capacity.

Well Hefner Lake has Canton water to suck if need be. Plenty of water in Canton lake to fill Hefner and Overholser. We have water rights!

Next time Hefner gets low, they need to seriously consider making it deeper. Way too much evaporation occurs, especially on the southern park of the lake. A lot of water is lost that doesn't need to be.

Oklahoma City's long term plan is to connect the Canton/Overholser/Hefner system to Draper/Atoka/Sardis system so either supply or the connected treatment plants can be backed up by the other, or a water treatment plant taken offline for improvements and repairs while the other supplies the city. I guess if that happens they could pump all the available water in those lakes through Hefner if they needed to. Or the other direction through Draper.

The raw water connection I was talking about above was seen in the study as less favorable than connecting the clean water sides of the two systems. I assume that's how it will end up instead.

Top link at this google search for more info, since I can't find a direct link.

https://www.google.com/search?q=OCWUT+Agenda.+Item+No.+VII.B.+10%2F16%2F2 012&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

Good find mkjeeves. You appear to be very interested (maybe just a pet interest?) in OKC's water planning. I enjoy following it as well because I'm involved in it daily.

Good find mkjeeves. You appear to be very interested (maybe just a pet interest?) in OKC's water planning. I enjoy following it as well because I'm involved in it daily.

Yeah, it's a pet interest. I'm involved in it every day too, I drink from the tap, lol.

Yeah, it's a pet interest. I'm involved in it every day too, I drink from the tap, lol.

Yes! Down with bottled water!

Does Draper ever get very low?

The problem with Hefner is not the capacity - it is the demand and available recharge water. A lake is like a bank account. My bank account is capable of holding $100,000,000 dollars, but I don't have $100,000,000 to put in it and my monetary demands will keep it from ever filling up. If we can't keep the current lake full, how are we going to keep a bigger lake full?

We might want to change the name of this thread. As of this morning, Canton Lake is 87.3% full and rising. Hopefully, it will be 100% full with the spring rains. Plus, Lake Hefner is at 102% of capacity. I bet we won't need to draw water from Canton at all this year.

We might want to change the name of this thread. As of this morning, Canton Lake is 87.3% full and rising. Hopefully, it will be 100% full with the spring rains. Plus, Lake Hefner is at 102% of capacity. I bet we won't need to draw water from Canton at all this year.

Funny thing, last year about this time my sailboat was sitting on the trailer and I was thinking "I hope we get enough rain to get the lake up high enough to at least launch the boat and sail for a few months. But I bet the harbor dries out again by June or July" I could not have been more wrong! Then around November I was thinking "well we didn't get much rain this fall, I bet the harbor dries up before the spring rains come." Wrong again!

We might want to change the name of this thread. As of this morning, Canton Lake is 87.3% full and rising. Hopefully, it will be 100% full with the spring rains. Plus, Lake Hefner is at 102% of capacity. I bet we won't need to draw water from Canton at all this year.

If OKC had another lake Hefner there would never be a water shortage. Plenty of water just not enough storage.

Oklahoma weather can be accurately described as "biblical"

OKC does have another Lake Hefner, and it's actually larger body of water known as Lake Stanley Draper.

The key is linking the two to better serve the entire city. I don't think there was ever the same water shortage from the Draper watershed that there was from the Hefner/Overholser section of the city. ...

OKC does have another Lake Hefner, and it's actually larger body of water known as Lake Stanley Draper.

The key is linking the two to better serve the entire city. I don't think there was ever the same water shortage from the Draper watershed that there was from the Hefner/Overholser section of the city. ...When Hefner was so low summer before last so was Draper. My bother-in-law and I Geocache and we hiked through dry areas of Draper that should have been 15 to 20 feet deep. Boat ramps were 100 feet from water. Etc.

When Hefner was so low summer before last so was Draper. My bother-in-law and I Geocache and we hiked through dry areas of Draper that should have been 15 to 20 feet deep. Boat ramps were 100 feet from water. Etc.

They were low for different reasons though, Hefner was low due to drought. Draper was low due to the pipeline that brings most of it's inflow was down for heavy maintenance for almost an entire year and it was being drawn extra at times to make up for Hefner's level, the kind maintenance they were doing will probably only happen around every fifty years. It's source near Atoka remained pretty high through the drought.

yeah, I thought they were doing mtc on Draper but that otherwise it did not have any issue with the weather/drought unlike Hefner/Overholser.

Great news about Canton, hopefully it will not only fill up but get into the flood control zone a bit make for some nice rehab of the ecosystem.

Canton is still about a foot and a half below the top of the conservation pool, which is considered normal elevation. The top of the flood control pool is 23' above that, but you don't want to keep TOO much water in the flood control pool or you lessen the lake's ability to deal with catastrophic flooding upstream.

Canton is still about a foot and a half below the top of the conservation pool, which is considered normal elevation. The top of the flood control pool is 23' above that, but you don't want to keep TOO much water in the flood control pool or you lessen the lake's ability to deal with catastrophic flooding upstream.
yeah they won't let it get into the flood control pool they open gates and drain it, you know because it's a "flood control pool" sorta defeats the purpose if it's full

yeah they won't let it get into the flood control pool they open gates and drain it, you know because it's a "flood control pool" sorta defeats the purpose if it's full

Looks like the lake is back to pretty much normal levels. Only about a foot low now and prob. still rising.

Looks like the lake is back to pretty much normal levels. Only about a foot low now and prob. still rising.

Great news for both Lake Hefner & Canton Lake.

Looks like the lake is back to pretty much normal levels. Only about a foot low now and prob. still rising.

CNLO2: Canton Lake (tabular) (http://www.swt-wc.usace.army.mil/webdata/gagedata/CNLO2.current.html)

Great news for both Lake Hefner & Canton Lake.

Yes plenty of water in Canton to fill Hefner a couple times if needed. Hopefully Hefner doesn't get to where it needs to take a draw but it sure is nice knowing that it's there. I we get rain anything close to last year Canton water will be in the flood zone.

Yes plenty of water in Canton to fill Hefner a couple times if needed. Hopefully Hefner doesn't get to where it needs to take a draw but it sure is nice knowing that it's there. I we get rain anything close to last year Canton water will be in the flood zone.
No they'll open flood gates and send it downstream all the way to lake eufaula. They keep the flood zone empty, in case of floods.

No they'll open flood gates and send it downstream all the way to lake eufaula. They keep the flood zone empty, in case of floods.

They may have to open the flood gate tomorrow for the first time in years. It appears that they have already had a good amount of rain today and tonight/tomorrow might send it over the top. Many people thought this lake was dead after OKC took what was rightly theirs but not so. The drought busting rains came just in time to save the lake. Hopefully everything is back to normal in Canton for the businesses.

I think they have the Walleye rodeo next month and the lake should be completely full for all the fishermen for the first time in years.

At current, the lake is 98.22% full, which puts the lake just under 3" down from being completely full. Inflow appears to have tapered off after yesterday's soaking, and the gates are closed. Another good rain like that and Canton will edge into the flood control pool.

Canton Lake (http://www.swt-wc.usace.army.mil/CANT.lakepage.html)

At current, the lake is 98.22% full, which puts the lake just under 3" down from being completely full. Inflow appears to have tapered off after yesterday's soaking, and the gates are closed. Another good rain like that and Canton will edge into the flood control pool.

Canton Lake (http://www.swt-wc.usace.army.mil/CANT.lakepage.html)

They did have two releases over the past couple days though. At least that what it was showing yesterday. Don't understand why they would so maybe that was a mistake on the site?