Let’s all enjoy Lake Texoma returning to normal lake levels in the next week or so, as predicted. The lave level is 621.50 as I write this post, and normal is 617. Great! We deserve it!
And let’s hurry up and enjoy ourselves because Lake Texoma may be headed for very low levels again soon.
That’s right. But, I’m not trying to stir up controversy at all. I’m pointing out that the Army Corps of Engineers has to repair the Cumberland Levee on the Washita, and that work may require lower lake levels than recreational enthusiasts are expecting now.
I don’t have all the details about what’s going to happen, meaning the consequences of levee repair on the overall level of Lake Texoma in the next few weeks, but I do have some links to show you why the repair is important.
It might not make a lot of sense to people who primarily enjoy the Texas side of Lake Texoma, or the Oklahoma side of Lake Texoma on the main lake. The Cumberland Levee damage is much farther north, just south of Tishomingo, and according to the Corps, “The Cumberland levee is 23,480 feet long with a crest elevation of 647.0. Highway 75A crosses the top of the dam.”
Let’s explore a few more facts, starting with this quote from the Texas State Historical Association:
“In 1967 Lake Texoma had a storage capacity of 2,722,000 acre-feet and a surface area of 91,200 acres. When the content drops below 2,250,100 acre-feet, the lake is divided into two pools by levees around the Cumberland oilfield.”
KXII.com reports, "The Cumberland levees were built by the Corps of Engineers to protect the Cumberland oil field, there's about 70 oil wells or so behind the Cumberland levees and the associate infrastructure."
And KFOR.com reports, “The levee, which sits just north-west of the Fort Washita bridge on Highway 199, holds back water from the Washita River, channeling it into Lake Texoma.
If you take the time to visit the links above you’ll discover that Cimarex Energy produces between 60 and 70 barrels a day in the area, and it had to implement emergency measures when the unprecedented flooding breached the levee in June.
In 2012 I posted on LakeTexoma.com about the North and South Cumberland Levees in2012, including a bit of history.
On July 2, 2015 The Army Corps of Engineers posted for bids to start to repair the damaged levee.
“A riverside temporary cofferdam is proposed to be constructed to provide temporary protection from future high water events of the Washita River. This protection is vital for repairing the levee breach by constructing levee lifts in dry conditions. In addition, the top width of the cofferdam will provide access around the levee breach.”
I believe a contractor has been selected and work is scheduled to begin soon.
Please feel free to correct me if I am mistaken in any of these facts, or in my conclusion that construction may require lower than normal lake levels during scheduled repair work on the Cumberland Levee.
