It was wonderful to stand at a high point on the West End of Lake Texoma on Saturday night, July 4, 2015 and to see fireworks going off all over the lake.
I’ve been living here for years, but I’ve never seen the big picture, the wide, panoramic view as we saw it this year. Naturally, it was especially touching to know that people are here enjoying their summer on the lake, despite the flood waters.
Speaking of flood waters, I know I’m not the only one wondering why the lake is going down so slowly. Yes, we’ve had some rain, but not a significant amount.
Last week the water level increased slightly one day, but it was less than an inch.
So I wonder why the water released out of the lake, now that it’s not flowing over the spillway, is flat-lined (see chart below) at 30,000 cubic feet per second for the last few days?
With 95 – 100 degree temps most days, I know plenty of water is evaporating, too. But not enough to bring the lake level down rapidly.
The shop where my husband works is still half full of water, and it’s been 5 weeks since it flooded. That’s a long time for water to be sitting in a commercial metal building.
This past week there were two incidences reported (that I know of) where boaters had to be rescued, but fortunately there were no injuries or casualties, although one victim suffered chest pains during the incident.
I guess I’m celebrating the fact that the July Fourth holiday weekend on flooded Lake Texoma did not result in dramatic accidents or drownings. That’s truly a good thing!