Lake Texoma Reaching Full Pool, But For How Long?




It’s Sunday, April 26th as I write this post, and Lake Texoma is within an inch of full pool. That’s the blessing of recent heavy rains. With more rain in the forecast this week, we should definitely hit 617, which measurement is the number of feet above sea level. And it’s what the Army Corps of Engineers considers normal.

A look at the graph on the left sidebar of LakeTexoma.com will show you an interesting historical perspective, but nobody can predict the future.


I’m excited that we can get out on the lake without fear of jamming props and keels on hidden tree stumps. That’s a good thing, for sure.


And I’m excited the lake will attract plenty of visitors this year. That’s ALWAYS a good thing.


But I’m a little bit worried about the future of Lake Texoma, too, because millions of gallons of water are now traveling through the huge pipeline to Wylie, TX, and some of it passes through the new Panda Energy power generation plant in Sherman.


Clean, green power for north Texans, right? What’s not to like about that? Drought or flood or anything in between, Lake Texoma has never been drained to the extent it’s being drained now. And, it has never experienced what’s fixin’ to happen in the future.


Turns out, Grayson County Judge Bill Magers is excited, too, But for a totally different reason. Today, The Herald Democrat reported Magers as saying, “… I’m so excited for the city of Sherman to add Phase II…” He’s referring to an expansion of the Panda Energy generator already using millions of gallons of Lake Texoma water each year.

KTEN online reported the following quote from Sherman Mayor Cary Wacker in March 2014, as the plant was nearing completion, “What the Panda Plant will be doing is just using a portion of Sherman's water allocation so it's not additional water coming out of the lake.”


OK, I want to trust that Lake Texoma will rise and fall in its normal lake elevations, just as it has done since the Denison Dam was built in the 1940s. I want to believe that the new pipeline and the Panda Sherman Power Project water use and proposed expansion won’t compromise businesses and visitors on Lake Texoma each year.


Am I worrying for nothing? Thanks for posting your comments below.




Tell us what you think!

Lake Texoma Email Updates


 

Visit our Lake Texoma Sponsors!

Lake Texoma on Social Media

 
       

Lake Texoma Current Weather Alerts

There are no active watches, warnings or advisories.

 

Lake Texoma Weather Forecast

Thursday

Sunny

Hi: 66

Thursday Night

Mostly Clear

Lo: 56

Friday

Mostly Cloudy

Hi: 71

Friday Night

Partly Cloudy

Lo: 60

Saturday

Mostly Cloudy

Hi: 75

Saturday Night

Mostly Cloudy

Lo: 65

Sunday

Mostly Cloudy

Hi: 75

Sunday Night

Slight Chance Thunderstorms

Lo: 68


Lake Texoma Water Level (last 30 days)


Water Level on 3/28: 615.11 (-1.89)



Lake Texoma

Fishing Report from TPWD (Mar. 20)

GOOD. Water normal stain; 57 degrees; 1.35 feet below pool. Striped bass fishing is good using live shad on main lake ledges and flats in 30-40 feet of water. The bite has improved drastically around 10:30-11:00 A.M. each day, so stick it out if you are not seeing active fish early. Backs of coves and around the mouths of the rivers are good with swimbaits in 8-15 feet of water where the water is dirty and warmer. Catfish are slow, anchor in shallow water near the rivers where the inflow is using whole gizzard shad or cut buffalo for big fish. Smaller fish showing up on the flats in 20-30 feet of water. Crappie are fair in the creeks in 1-5 feet of water using jigs and minnows on brush sticking up or lay downs from the bank. Mo glo and black/chartreuse on a slip cork in shallow creeks. Largemouth and smallmouth bass are fair on swimbaits along the bluffs and on sandy points with stumps in 5-8 feet of water. Topwater bite will be on soon! Report by Jacob Orr, Guaranteed Guide Service Lake Texoma. Striped bass continue to be caught with Alabama rigs or sassy shad targeting structure. Somedays fish are in 5 feet and some in 40 feet of water. The water clarity is clear near the dam and muddy where rivers enter the lake. Report by John Blasingame, Adventure Texoma Outdoors.

More Fishing Reports