The next time you venture out for some on-the-water fun in Oklahoma, stop and reflect on this unique fact: Essentially all of Oklahoma’s major lakes and reservoirs are man-made.
“Most were created by constructing dams across streams. Most lakes were made for flood control, water supply, recreation, fish, wildlife and/or hydroelectric power,” according to The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. “The major lakes in Oklahoma have been constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA). Other large lakes are owned and operated by various state and federal agencies, by cities and by other entities.”
Floods along Oklahoma watersheds were extremely common – and disastrous – prior to the construction of reservoirs, says Matthew Pearce, Ph.D., State Historian with the Oklahoma Historical Society.
“Indeed, while Oklahoma is often associated with drought and the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression, more Oklahomans during the 1930s were displaced by floods than they were by dust,” says Pearce.
The town of Hammon in Roger Mills County was the site of a particularly devastating flood in 1934. Fourteen inches of rain fell within five hours, and the associated floods killed seventeen people, says Pearce.
It takes the work of several organizations to keep the waterways working today.
“The USACE is the federal body responsible for civil works, which includes the construction, maintenance and operation of dams and canals for purposes of flood control and navigation,” says Pearce. “For example, the Tulsa District of the USACE oversees a number of facilities and projects along the Arkansas River, including well-known lakes such as Keystone, Oologah and Texoma, as well as the Port of Catoosa and the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS).”
The Corps regularly dredges the navigational channel of MKARNS so that it maintains an adequate depth for river traffic. It also regulates water releases from as many as seven reservoirs, including lakes Keystone, Oologa and Eufaula to maintain the system.
The GRDA is tasked with administering hydroelectric projects along the Grand River, says Pearce. It was created through federal legislation (1935) and modeled somewhat after the better-known Tennessee Valley Authority, or TVA, with the goal of comprehensively developing the Grant River watershed for purposes of flood control and hydroelectricity.
“Grand River Dam, also known as Pensacola Dam (within Grand Lake, or Lake O’ The Cherokees) was completed in 1941 and was the first hydroelectric project built in Oklahoma,” says Pearce. “Kerr Dam (Lake Hudson) is the other notable dam associated with the GRDA.”
Flood control, hydroelectricity and navigability in the case of the Arkansas River were the primary concerns behind the development of many lakes and reservoirs in Oklahoma.
“Oklahoma’s lakes and reservoirs are administered under the principle of multiple use and are expected to provide tourism/recreation services. Tourism/recreation is the primary way through which many Oklahomans and out-of-state visitors experience lakes and reservoirs, while other uses such as flood control and electricity have a tendency to be ignored or taken for granted,” says Pearce.
He continues: “Recreational facilities are administered by a variety of federal, state and private entities, and regular visitation to lakes and reservoirs is a key aspect of Oklahoma’s tourism economy. A good example is Broken Bow Lake in McCurtain County, which experiences well over one million visitors each year.”
