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

[HangryHippo]

There is a difference between the drought being over (which it is) and making up for the years of below normal rainfall (which we haven't yet). But the thing is you don't necessarilly need to make up for the below normal years because a lot of the water would be excess and flow downstream somewhere. You need to have the amount that you use. While I agree we shuld conserve, it shouldn't be mandatory, government imposed (unless a need exists, as during a drought).



i saw what you did there. LOL. And the answer is NO. Certainly not government imposed when no need to conserve exists.

Venture79: Thank you for supplying the info...

How can you reasonably say "when no need to conserve exists." How can you say that when Oklahoma continues to suffer from years long droughts? Conservation should be the standard practice at this point. How can someone remotely think that there's ever a time that no need to conserve exists?

[Larry OKC]

OnlyOne: I can say it because it is the truth. Just look at the stuff Venture79 posted. If you have excess, is there a need to conserve? NO. In fact, it might help matters at Stars & Stripes Park etc if folks stated wasting some of the water just to get all of that excess flood water someplace to go to. or pump it out and truck it back up to Canton Lake

[OKCisOK4me]

OnlyOne: I can say it because it is the truth. Just look at the stuff Venture79 posted. If you have excess, is there a need to conserve? NO. In fact, it might help matters at Stars & Stripes Park etc if folks stated wasting some of the water just to get all of that excess flood water someplace to go to. or pump it out and truck it back up to Canton Lake

Unless things have changed since this weekend, the city if still exercising use of odd even watering days so technically you're in the wrong--which is surprising for someone that's so conservative when it comes to taxes...

[HangryHippo]

OnlyOne: I can say it because it is the truth. Just look at the stuff Venture79 posted. If you have excess, is there a need to conserve? NO. In fact, it might help matters at Stars & Stripes Park etc if folks stated wasting some of the water just to get all of that excess flood water someplace to go to. or pump it out and truck it back up to Canton Lake

This is the dumbest thing I've read in quite some time. The entire western half of the state is still in moderate to exceptional drought, but there's no need to conserve. Okay...

[OKCisOK4me]

This is the dumbest thing I've read in quite some time. The entire western half of the state is still in moderate to exceptional drought, but there's no need to conserve. Okay...

Yeah, where does he think the water for the northern half of OKC comes from? The catchment for Canton is Seiling, Woodward, Shattuck, Fort Supply and Guymon. Most everything in the panhandle soaks into the ground and doesn't even run downstream and considering the drought they're in....well....

[Larry OKC]

Unless things have changed since this weekend, the city if still exercising use of odd even watering days so technically you're in the wrong--which is surprising for someone that's so conservative when it comes to taxes...

Yes, they have made the odd/even thing permanent 9according to a flier I got recently). But the point is there isn't a NEDD for us to be doing so.

This is the dumbest thing I've read in quite some time. The entire western half of the state is still in moderate to exceptional drought, but there's no need to conserve. Okay...

Thee is no need to conserve HERE. Right now.

Yeah, where does he think the water for the northern half of OKC comes from? The catchment for Canton is Seiling, Woodward, Shattuck, Fort Supply and Guymon. Most everything in the panhandle soaks into the ground and doesn't even run downstream and considering the drought they're in....well....

Again, the drought is still THERE, not HERE. Please correct me if I am wrong, but it is my understanding that other than when they released the water from Canton (that OKC owns the water rights), the water for the northern half of OKC comes from Lake Hefner??? If other rivers etc fed into Hefner, how can they do so if those areas are in such drought??? According to the OKC site (City of Oklahoma City | Water & Wastewater Utilities),

Oklahoma City gets raw water from the North Canadian River, supplemented by Canton Reservoir (northwest of Oklahoma City) and Atoka and McGee Creek Reservoirs in southeastern Oklahoma.

The key word there is supplemented (like when OKC is experiencing drought)

http://www.okgazette.com/oklahoma/ar...ater-hogs.html

On Oct. 11, the city announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was releasing 30,000 acre-feet of water from Canton Lake into the North Canadian River to increase the city’s drinking water supply captured by Lakes Hefner and Overholser.

Again, this goes along with the City's supplemental statement.

[Midtowner]

or pump it out and truck it back up to Canton Lake

For real?

Let's say you wanted to move 25,000 acre feet back to Canton.

25 000 acre feet = 1 089 000 000 cubic feet

That's about 316,339 semi trailers full.

Good luck on that one.

[OKCisOK4me]

Again, the drought is still THERE, not HERE. Please correct me if I am wrong, but ...

There was no reason to state the obvious and I'm in agreement with you because I've seen the charts from NOAA with regard to the drought situation...doesn't mean you need to go buck wild on water use.

If other rivers etc fed into Hefner, how can they do so if those areas are in such drought???

There are no rivers that feed into Lake Hefner other than the channel that comes to Hefner via Lake Overholser.

[WilliamTell]

I say we drain canton again to turn it into little Sahara two!

Sorry..too soon .

[OKCRT]

For real?

Let's say you wanted to move 25,000 acre feet back to Canton.

25 000 acre feet = 1 089 000 000 cubic feet

That's about 316,339 semi trailers full.

Good luck on that one.

I jug at a time...

[Midtowner]

Yeah.... wew.

Or we could just reverse that whole continental divide and have the water go back up the channel from East to West.. no problems there, right?

[ou48A]

Good news: Fort Supply Lake is 100% full. This is upstream from Lake Canton.
A good rain upstream from FS could send water to Canton Lake.

[ou48A]

[Snowman]

Good news: Fort Supply Lake is 100% full. This is upstream from Lake Canton.
A good rain upstream from FS could send water to Canton Lake.

While any is good news, Fort Supply is very small compared to Canton

[Kokopelli]

While any is good news, Fort Supply is very small compared to Canton

Additionally Ft Supply is extremely shallow. Less than 12 foot deep in most parts of the lake.

[ou48A]

Additionally Ft Supply is extremely shallow. Less than 12 foot deep in most parts of the lake.

While that is true a very large part of the Canton Lake watershed had been cut do to the low level of Fort Supply Lake. There is now the opportunity with good rain for that part of the watershed to contribute to Canton Lake regardless of how small or large Fort Supply lake is. Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait until this fall to see it start helping. I have seen the river well above flood stage near Woodward so I know that a quick recovery can happen.

[Larry OKC]

Midtowner: No, not for real, I know that isn't feasible...but it would be nice if we could

[Midtowner]

I'm not sure you do... and you're not even the first person in this long and strange thread to suggest it. I just finally decided to do the math.

[Larry OKC]

Mid: LOL...didn't someone mention that we trucked water to New York when they were having a drought during the Worlds Fair to keep our exhibit lush and green? I know there is a economy of scale makes it unworkable...maybe load those tankers onto trains...LOL

I know I read that they put off releasing the water as long as they thought they could, hoping to get rain, and esp get some rain so the released water wouldn't all soak into the riverbed and be lost (since it isn't delivered thru a pipeline)...hindsight is 20/20 and all that, just too bad they couldn't have waited a bit longer for the folks in Canton that depend on that lake for their livelihood.

[Midtowner]

Mid: LOL...didn't someone mention that we trucked water to New York when they were having a drought during the Worlds Fair to keep our exhibit lush and green? I know there is a economy of scale makes it unworkable...maybe load those tankers onto trains...LOL

That's a little different than trucking 25,000 acre feet or so, sport.

[Larry OKC]

Wow...I understand that...thought that was perfectly clear

[Midtowner]

It is now

[OKCTalker]

U.S. Supreme Court sides with Oklahoma in water case | News OK

WASHINGTON --Texas is not entitled to take water from Oklahoma without the state's consent, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Thursday.

The decision is a major victory for Oklahoma, which has sought to prevent out-of-state water sales, and ends a long-running legal battle with a Texas state agency that provides water to several communities in north central Texas, including Fort Worth.

[OKCRT]

U.S. Supreme Court sides with Oklahoma in water case | News OK

WASHINGTON --Texas is not entitled to take water from Oklahoma without the state's consent, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Thursday.

The decision is a major victory for Oklahoma, which has sought to prevent out-of-state water sales, and ends a long-running legal battle with a Texas state agency that provides water to several communities in north central Texas, including Fort Worth.

OKC has all the water it will ever need. All they need to do is pipe it in.
Texas can eat our dust!

[ljbab728]

OKC has all the water it will ever need. All they need to do is pipe it in.
Texas can eat our dust!

Maybe not yet. Isn't this still an issue?

Oklahoma City - Oklahoma Water Rights