In a meeting last week board members of the Canton Lake Association met with Marsha Slaughter manager of the Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust and her colleagues to discuss concerns of the intended draw down of Canton Lake. Mrs. Slaughter and her organization, which currently hold a contract with the US Army Corps of Engineers for water storage rights in Canton Lake wish to take another 30,000 acre feet of water which would lower the lake another 7.3 feet.This proposed draw of water would be to provide drinking water for nearly 200,000 residents of OKC according to Mrs. Slaughter.
In addition to the already 9 feet below normal pool the lake is at currently, this would bring the Canton lake level to it’s lowest point since sometime in the 1950’s. According to experts from the Oklahoma Dept of Wildlife, it is very likely we will experience a major fish kill in the lake next summer if spring rains do not refill the lake to a healthy level. Rains certainly can not be counted on with the current drought pattern enveloping this part of the nation.
For nearly two hours both sides expressed their concerns and tried to gain a better understanding of the other’s point of view. There were questions and discussion as to any other options that might possibly be available to at least postpone the taking of water until March or April. A delay would allow a period of time for spring rains which would in turn lessen the devastating effects a drawdown would have on Canton Lake. Beneficial spring rains in central and western Oklahoma could supplement or fill storage lakes Overholser and Hefner and greatly reduce or even eliminate the release of water from Canton Lake.
The lack of water rationing and conservation on the part of the residents of OKC was discussed and met with arguments from Mrs. Slaughter’s camp, one of which was Oklahoma City is currently one of the most efficient cities in the nation as far as water consumption rates per population. While this sounds good in theory, it is the opinion of the Canton Lake Association that rationing and conservation orders could have at least been implemented beforehand thus reducing the crisis before us now. The result of those orders could have been the gap needed until the arrival of beneficial spring rains, which at least in western Oklahoma have the potential to greatly reduce or diffuse the issue altogether.
The Canton Lake Association members expressed the need for education to begin immediately for the residents of OKC and surrounding communities who rely on the water from the lake, to understand the severity of the current drought situation and how to implement water conserving practices which should have been implemented months ago. It is Canton Lake Association’s opinion that the Oklahoma City residents served by the water from Canton Lake have no idea of the severity of the drought situation or the Water Utilities Trust’s ability or inability to provide them water once the water from Canton Lake has been exhausted. Canton Lake not having water for Oklahoma City next year could be highly likely once this water draw is taken, coupled with Canton Lake not receiving needed spring rains to replenish lake supplies. Essentially Mrs. Slaughter confessed after much questioning, that her organization had no viable second option in place at this time to capture water. She stated they had purchased the rights to the water storage in Canton Lake and they intended to execute those rights.
There is currently 40,000 acre feet of water available in lake Hefner, at least half of which could possibly be used to provide the residents served by Canton Lake water, with over 100 days of water or more. When questioned as to why they can’t use that water to buy time to get us into spring rain season before a Canton Lake withdraw, Mrs. Slaughter expressed that she is leery of trying to rely on that water as they have never been this low on water and she is concerned they can’t access that water due to poor engineering of the pumping structure from the lake to the treatment facility. This answer seemed skeptic and unacceptable to the Canton Lake Association who believes that OKC has an obligation to exhaust all of their resources before pulling Canton Lake down to unhealthy levels that could cause massive ecological and economic devastation to the lake and to communities in NW OK.
At the close of the meeting board members of the Canton Lake Association felt a small victory had been accomplished if only in the fact that Mrs. Slaughter is now planning to wait at least 2 to 3 weeks before taking the draw unless we receive rainfall to saturate the river bed in which case she may call for the release sooner, but we believe she will call for the water sometime in the next month regardless of rain.
The board has a lot of other plans in place to help stall this release.
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