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

[Dennis Heaton]

Optimal elevation for Hefner is 1199, so at 1195+ it is less than 4 feet below that level. Not bad.

Sure looks a heck of a lot better than it did before the rains came.

[jn1780]

I don't see how Canton lake can get back to normal levels. That would take weeks of constant rain sitting right over the lake. Or in other words,it would take a miracle.

A miracle to some, a curse to others. We're going to have a severe flooding year eventually, nature usually balances itself out. Another reason besides drinking water Oklahoma has so many man made lakes is flood control.

One storm dumped over five inches of rain last week in Hinton. So things can change quickly.

[Just the facts]

How is lake Hefner doing? I am thinking that Canton may never be full again.

I caught a program a few months ago that was discussing this very topic. It seems the base elevation and water allocation rule for many western lakes were done at a time when above average rainfall was being recorded for several years. They have already concluded that Lake Mead and Lake Powell will never be full again. Lake Mead will be bone dry by 2050 and the Colorado River hasn't reached the Gulf of California in over 20 years.

Meanwhile, back at the suburban fringe, new 1/3 acre yards are going in.

[bradh]

Convenient for you to take a stab at suburbia, but it's just the shear population growth of these cities out west that are putting the strains on the water supply. It's frightening because the environment out there is just not made for the millions that live out there.

[Just the facts]

Convenient for you to take a stab at suburbia, but it's just the shear population growth of these cities out west that are putting the strains on the water supply. It's frightening because the environment out there is just not made for the millions that live out there.

It's not population growth - it is what the population is using the water on. When the water allocation amount were setup in the 1930 most homes didn't even have yards.

http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housi...ar%20Built.pdf

While the size of the home has increased steadily
based on the year it was built, in recent years the size
of the lot the home is built on has declined. The
median lot size on which a single-family home2 was
built, as shown in Figure 5, increased from 0.25 acres
for homes built in the 1960s or earlier to 0.32 acres
for homes built in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and
then declined in the 2000s (median of 0.28 acres and
0.25 acres for single-family homes built between
2000 and 2004 and between 2005 and 2009,
respectively). The lot size for mobile or
manufactured homes has, however, risen
substantially over the decades. Manufactured or
mobile homes built in the 1960s or earlier generally
sat on 0.19 acres of land – this number rose to a high
of 1.01 acres in the 1990s and the early 2000s (2000
to 2004) and declined to 0.76 acres for those built
between 2005 and 2009, but this decline is not
statistically significant.

Sooner or later local governments are going to have to come to drips (grips) with the faucet (fact) that we can't continue to build subdivisions.

[Snowman]

It's not population growth - it is what the population is using the water on. When the water allocation amount were setup in the 1930 most homes didn't even have yards.

http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housi...ar%20Built.pdf



Sooner or later local governments are going to have to come to drips (grips) with the faucet (fact) that we can't continue to build subdivisions.

The entire Urban/Suburban use for water in the US is only like 12% of all water uses. The two major ones are thermometric 57% and irrigation at 37%.

[Just the facts]

The entire Urban/Suburban use for water in the US is only like 12% of all water uses. The two major ones are thermometric 57% and irrigation at 37%.

What are they irrigating? Here in Florida we have two water meters - one for household use and the other for irrigation (i.e. - watering the lawn). The reason homes here are built with 2 meters is because the irrigation meter is not charged for sewer.

[Snowman]

What are they irrigating? Here in Florida we have two water meters - one for household use and the other for irrigation (i.e. - watering the lawn). The reason homes here are built with 2 meters is because the irrigation meter is not charged for sewer.

farmland

[soonerguru]

How much water is being used in Oklahoma for fracking? I never see anything about this, but it is a water-intensive exercise.

[soonerguru]

It's really weird. I watch it almost daily because I have developed an odd fascination with it. Even when it gets heavy rain the "conservation pool" remains around 22% full and rarely moves. I have even seen the level go DOWN after a good rain and in days after, when you would expect inflow from the catchment basin. It's strange.

The conservation pool is up to almost 24%. In May, it was at 18%, so there is improvement. The area has had as much as 9 inches of rain in the last month, but a lot of the rains fed the Cimarron basin more than the North Canadian basin. The rain this weekend definitely moved the needle, though, and there is more expected this week.

[gopokes88]

I caught a program a few months ago that was discussing this very topic. It seems the base elevation and water allocation rule for many western lakes were done at a time when above average rainfall was being recorded for several years. They have already concluded that Lake Mead and Lake Powell will never be full again. Lake Mead will be bone dry by 2050 and the Colorado River hasn't reached the Gulf of California in over 20 years.

Meanwhile, back at the suburban fringe, new 1/3 acre yards are going in.

I'll believe that when I see it. The colorado river might be the most fickle in the country except for the Mississippi. If you study the history of both of those lakes they have swings in elevation that lasts decades. Lake powell went up by 40 feet last month. The 90s was extremely wet, we've been in a drought for 12 years or so. It'll flip again.

[coov23]

How much water is being used in Oklahoma for fracking? I never see anything about this, but it is a water-intensive exercise.

The anti-fracking posters on here are always ready to take a stab. Too funny.

[ylouder]

How much water is being used in Oklahoma for fracking? I never see anything about this, but it is a water-intensive exercise.

2-5 million gallons per well

[coov23]

2-5 million gallons per well

Lol

[Bill Robertson]

2-5 million gallons per well

Lol

According to an EPA report the 2 to 5 million per well is accurate. However, the same report says that 15 to 80 percent of fracking fluids are recovered and reused.

[Just the facts]

I'll believe that when I see it. The colorado river might be the most fickle in the country except for the Mississippi. If you study the history of both of those lakes they have swings in elevation that lasts decades. Lake powell went up by 40 feet last month. The 90s was extremely wet, we've been in a drought for 12 years or so. It'll flip again.

You will believe what when you see it? Powell might have gone up 40 feet but it is still 86 feet below full and the current elevation wil be the highest it is all year. The last time Lake Powel was full was in 1999 - 15 years ago. At the same time Lake Mead lost another 10 feet in elevation because they were storing extra water in Powell (hence the recent 40' rise). The math is pretty basic - the Feds allocated more water than exists in reality which means someone isn't going to get the water they were promised.

Lake Powell Water Level - Summer 2014 Forecast - Lake Powell Forum - TripAdvisor

[Dennis Heaton]

How much water would be saved if everyone didn't flush the commode every time they just pee?????

[Urbanized]

...In May, it was at 18%, so there is improvement...

Really? I guess I missed that. I watch it all the time and have had the sense that it has been stuck on 22% and change for more than a year now.

[HangryHippo]

The anti-fracking posters on here are always ready to take a stab. Too funny.

He asked a simple question. How is that anti-fracking or taking a stab?

[Just the facts]

How much water would be saved if everyone didn't flush the commode every time they just pee?????

Not as much as you might think. Sewer systems were designed with the water flow in mind to make sure everything makes it to the treatment plant. When low flow toilets became in vogue the water treatment plants had to start adding water to make up for the lack of water in the system. Besides, all the water that you flush makes its way right back to a river eventually to be used later by someone else. The real culprits are pouring it on the ground and evaporation.

[Urbanized]

I'm by no means anti-fraccing and frankly get irritated at the current trend to blame everything bad on the energy industry, but questioning how much water is consumed in the drilling process is certainly relevant in a thread about water levels and consumption in the state of Oklahoma.

[Bellaboo]

He asked a simple question. How is that anti-fracking or taking a stab?

A friend of mine sold 4 'draws' from his farm pond to Devon last fall for fracking, at $11,000 a draw. This happened over a 4 month period, and each time it rained he was ready to sell again. It might be a lot of gallons, but the fact that his pond by his house, which is actually pretty good size, can supply a considerable amount of fracking water from a small creek runoff.

Lately, the drillers in the immediate area are drawing water from a creek that is flowing into the Cimmaron River, for the drilling process. If they don't use it, it's going on downstream.

[HangryHippo]

A friend of mine sold 4 'draws' from his farm pond to Devon last fall for fracking, at $11,000 a draw. This happened over a 4 month period, and each time it rained he was ready to sell again. It might be a lot of gallons, but the fact that his pond by his house, which is actually pretty good size, can supply a considerable amount of fracking water from a small creek runoff.

How much water is being used statewide? How much water is in a draw?

[Just the facts]

Heaven forbid water should go downstream and ultimately flush bays and estuaries. We can't have that. [/sarc]

[OKCisOK4me]

How much water would be saved if everyone didn't flush the commode every time they just pee?????

My dad always said "if it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down". Of course, that was for the water supply at our cabin in Colorado cause water was transported in.