# Optima Lake > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Optima_Lake > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Optima_Lake.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optima_Lake > Source revision: 1320946719 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Unused reservoir in Oklahoma, US}} {{Use American English|date = April 2019}} {{Use mdy dates|date = April 2019}} {{Infobox body of water | name = Optima Lake | image = USACE Optima Lake and Dam.jpg | caption = Optima Lake and Dam in June of 1986 | image_bathymetry = | caption_bathymetry = | location = [Texas County, Oklahoma](/source/Texas_County%2C_Oklahoma) | coords = {{coord|36|39|42|N|101|08|12|W|type:waterbody_region:US|display=inline,title}} | type = [Reservoir](/source/Reservoir) | inflow = | outflow = | catchment = | basin_countries = United States | length = | width = | area = | depth = | max-depth = | volume = | residence_time = | shore = | elevation = {{convert|2766|ft}}{{GNIS|1754456}} | islands = | cities = [Hardesty](/source/Hardesty%2C_Oklahoma), Oklahoma | pushpin_map = Oklahoma#USA | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = Location of Optima Lake in Oklahoma, USA. | pushpin_map_caption = | website = | reference = }} '''Optima Lake''' was built to be a [reservoir](/source/reservoir) in [Texas County, Oklahoma](/source/Texas_County%2C_Oklahoma). The site is just north of [Hardesty](/source/Hardesty%2C_Oklahoma) and east of [Guymon](/source/Guymon%2C_Oklahoma) in the [Oklahoma Panhandle](/source/Oklahoma_Panhandle).{{cite web|url= https://www.google.com/maps/place/Optima+Lake/@36.6579294,-101.3389211,10.27z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x8707da42f02f346d:0xb1b6ea791396e6!8m2!3d36.6583601!4d-101.1371042 |title=Optima Lake, Oklahoma|publisher=Google Maps|accessdate=June 30, 2021}} The earthen '''Optima Lake Dam''' (National ID # OK20510) was completed in {{start date and age|1978|p=y}} by the [United States Army Corps of Engineers](/source/United_States_Army_Corps_of_Engineers), with a height of {{convert|120|feet|m}}, and a length at its crest of {{convert|16,875|feet|m}}.{{cite web|url=http://ce-npdp-serv2.stanford.edu/DamDirectory/DamDetail.jsp?npdp_id=OK20510|title=Optima Lake Dam Details|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605060144/http://ce-npdp-serv2.stanford.edu/DamDirectory/DamDetail.jsp?npdp_id=OK20510|archive-date=June 5, 2015|url-status=dead|access-date=September 4, 2012}} Although designed to contain a maximum of {{convert|618,500|acre-feet|m3}} of water, the lake never reached more than five percent of capacity,Wahl, K & R. L. Tortorelli, 1996. "Changes in flow in the Beaver-North Canadian River Basin Upstream from Canton Lake, Western Oklahoma", USGS [https://pubs.usgs.gov/wri/wri964304/ WRI 96-4304] and remains effectively empty. Rapid declines in streamflow related to large-scale pumping from the high plains aquifer system, also known as the [Ogallala Aquifer](/source/Ogallala_Aquifer), coincided with the completion of the dam, to make the reservoir a dramatic example of unanticipated environmental impacts. The Corps' website states in part (emphasis in original): {{blockquote|All public use areas around the lake are land access points only, and do not offer swimming, boating, fishing or camping opportunities. The water level in the lake has never reached normal pool. '''Visitors should be aware that the lake's level is very low, and is often times dry.''' Visitors wanting to picnic or view wildlife should come for the quiet natural setting -- with or without water in the lake area.{{cite web|url= https://www.swt.usace.army.mil/Locations/Tulsa-District-Lakes/Oklahoma/Optima-Lake/ |title=Welcome to Optima Lake|publisher=US Army Corps of Engineers|accessdate=August 24, 2021}}}} The lake surroundings offer few to no amenities since lake camping facilities and buildings were dismantled for public safety by the Corps in 2010. ==History== The project was originally included as part of the [Flood Control Act of 1936](/source/Flood_Control_Act_of_1936), as modified by the [Flood Control Act of 1950](/source/Flood_Control_Act_of_1950),Section 216 Initial Appraisal Report, Optima Lake, September 2010, US Army Corps of Engineers{{cite web|url=http://www.swt.usace.army.mil/Portals/41/docs/library/optima/initial-aprsl-2010-09.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130226190304/http://www.swt.usace.army.mil/Portals/41/docs/library/optima/initial-aprsl-2010-09.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 26, 2013|title=US Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District, website|access-date=June 1, 2015}}The impact of Title II of Public Law 516-81st Congress, cited as The Flood Control Act of 1950, was that Optima had to be built in such a way as not to negatively impact [Canton Lake](/source/Canton_Lake_(Oklahoma)), further downstream on the North Canadian River. The Arkansas River Basin section of the Act states with respect to Optima, "The Chief of Engineers is authorized to so design, construct and operate the Optima Reservoir, authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1936, as amended and supplemented, that, taken with the existing [Fort Supply](/source/Fort_Supply_Lake) and Canton Reservoirs, there will remain at all times to the maximum extent practicable, conservation storage capacity in the Canton Reservoir authorized by existing law."{{cite web|url=https://www.fws.gov/habitatconservation/omnibus/r&ha1950.pdf| title= Public Law 516-81st Congress | website= U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | access-date=March 15, 2020}} but planning and political wrangling delayed the start of construction until 1966.{{cite web | url= https://www.405magazine.com/April-2014/Pictures-From-The-Missing-Lake/ | title= Pictures from the Missing Lake | date= March 25, 2014 | publisher= 405 Magazine, formerly Slice Magazine | access-date=April 11, 2019}} The intent was for the reservoir to fill primarily from the flow of the [Beaver River](/source/Beaver_River_(Oklahoma)),{{cite web|url=https://stateimpact.npr.org/oklahoma/2013/03/28/the-lessons-of-history-no-longer-apply-when-it-comes-to-building-lakes/|title=If You Want to Build a New Lake in Oklahoma, Forget History|last=Layden|first=Logan|date=March 28, 2013|website=[NPR](/source/NPR)|access-date=June 1, 2015}} also known as the [North Canadian River](/source/North_Canadian_River). Normal flow on the Beaver River, from 1937 to 1966, averaged 32.2 cubic feet per second. The river had occasional floods, including an October 1923 flood amounting to {{convert|109,000|acre-feet|m3}} of water, and a September 1941 flood in which the Beaver's flow increased to {{convert|44,200| cuft/s|m3/s}}. The river's most recent flow of significance was in October 1965 at {{convert|17,800|cuft/s|m3/s}}. In the end the project was authorized for flood control, drinking and irrigation water in the relatively dry Oklahoma panhandle, recreation, and fish and wildlife conservation. The Guymon Chamber of Commerce, which enthusiastically backed the project, published a pamphlet that touted its expected virtues. The brochure forecast that the lake would be {{convert|100|ft|m}} deep, and its arms would flood up to {{convert|10|miles|km}} up Beaver River and {{convert|9|miles|km}} along its tributary, [Coldwater Creek](/source/Coldwater_Creek_(Oklahoma)). During the 12 years of construction by the [U.S. Army Corps of Engineers](/source/U.S._Army_Corps_of_Engineers), the flow of the Beaver dropped. It was later recognized that because the source of the Beaver was the underground Ogallala Aquifer, being the water table underlying far western Oklahoma and parts of seven other Western states, and due to increased takings from the aquifer for irrigation and drinking water, the river's flow was being reduced to a trickle. The $46.1-million project was completed in 1978. The dam was constructed of compacted earth fill embankment with gated outlet works and a {{convert|1,500|foot|m}} long uncontrolled saddle spillway. The top of the dam is at {{convert|2821.0|ft|m}} of elevation above sea level. The specifications put the top of the maximum pool at {{convert|2814.2|ft|m}}, the top of the flood control pool at {{convert|2779.0|ft|m}}, the top of the conservation pool at {{convert|2763.5|ft|m}}, and the top of the inactive pool at {{convert|2726.0|ft|m}}. The conservation pool was designed to hold {{convert|117,500|acre-feet|m3}} of water, with {{convert|76,200|acre-feet|m3}} designated to be available as a water supply. The flood pool capacity was designed for {{convert|229,500|acre-feet|m3}}, while absolute maximum capacity of the lake was set at {{convert|618,500|acre feet|m3}}. The Corps forecasted in 1979 that, "The optimum visitation for the project is 600,000 annual visitors and will be reached in 2014." But water flow in the Beaver, 1977–1987, averaged only {{convert|7|cuft/s|m3/s}}, far less than the {{convert|32.2|cuft/s|m3/s}} historical average. In the mid-1980s, the Corps recognized that the reduced flow of the Beaver was permanent and that the reservoir was not going to fill: the maximum lake level was achieved May 31, 1980 at an elevation of {{convert|2722.90|feet|m}}, whereas the very bottom of the conservation pool was intended to be {{convert|2726.00|feet|m}}. Subsequently, the flow in the Beaver dropped even further. In the last five year period (from 1989–1993) that the [U.S. Geological Survey](/source/United_States_Geological_Survey) could measure its flow near [Guymon](/source/Guymon%2C_Oklahoma), the river averaged less than {{convert|0.2|cuft/s|L/s}}.Actually 0.1864 of one cubic foot per second, calculated from the annual data at the [U.S. Geological Survey](/source/United_States_Geological_Survey) Website waterdata.usgs.com, accessed 2017-05-23, using search parameters Surface Water, Historical Observations, Site Number, 07232500, Annual Statistics, checking the box for Discharge Cubic Feet Per Second, and submitting. The Corps formally closed the park in 1995, although the site remained open to the public. With funding from the [American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009](/source/American_Recovery_and_Reinvestment_Act_of_2009), about 161 decaying structures including picnic enclosures, campsites, restrooms, dump stations, and numerous power poles, were demolished by September 2010 for safety reasons. As of 2014, the project was receiving 2000 to 5000 visitors annually. A spending controversy erupted in 2009, when the Corps wanted to use $1.2 million of economic stimulus money to replace rotting guardrails on each side of the paved road across the top of the Optima Dam used by approximately 15 cars a day.{{cite news|url=http://www.news9.com/story/11114996/stimulus-project-scrapped-questions-remain-why-it-was-ever-approved|title=Stimulus Project Scrapped; Questions Remain Why It Was Ever Approved|last=Lester|first=Amy|date=September 11, 2009|work=[News 9 Now and News on 6 Now](/source/News_9_Now_and_News_on_6_Now)|access-date=June 1, 2015}} Public criticism caused the Corps to instead gate and padlock the road at a cost of $1000. The Corps' September 2010 Section 216 ''Initial Appraisal Report on Optima Lake'' indicated the Corps was spending approximately $160,000 per year for annual inspections of dam structures, detailed inspections at five year intervals, and repairs as budgets allowed. That same report indicated that existing dam structures (gate tower, stilling basin, uncontrolled spillway and outlet works) remained in operational condition. In the 1973 [Environmental Impact Statement](/source/Environmental_impact_statement) done by the Corps during the planning process, a "dry lake" option for the project was considered which would have provided for no water retention during normal periods, but would have created an area available as a flood containment pool in the event of abnormally large water events in the area.{{cite web | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-g40AQAAMAAJ&q=optima+lake&pg=SA5-PA7| title= Optima Lake, North Canadian River: Environmental Impact Statement | year= 1974 | access-date=May 10, 2019}} That concept for Optima was rejected in favor of an active water-containment reservoir; however, the project as it currently exists is consistent with the dry lake option.As stated in the 2012 report, “Optima Lake regulates flow in the Beaver River at Beaver but does not sustain a water supply yield.” {{cite web|url=http://www.owrb.ok.gov/supply/ocwp/pdf_ocwp/WaterPlanUpdate/regionalreports/OCWP_Panhandle_Region_Report.pdf| title= Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plan, Panhandle Watershed Planning Region Report, 2012, page 6| publisher= Oklahoma Water Resources Board | access-date=April 11, 2020}} The Beaver does occasionally still carry off surface flooding after heavy rains, as in April 2016 when the river was flowing near Guymon for the first time in decades following two days of intense rains that caused Texas County to be declared a disaster area,{{cite news| url=https://okcfox.com/news/local/beaver-river-flows-for-first-time-in-decades-near-guymon | title= Beaver River flows for first time in decades near Guymon | work=Fox25 Oklahoma City|date=April 18, 2016 | access-date=May 10, 2019}} and again in June 2024 when the Guymon area received 7.61 inches of rain in one night which left the Beaver River with fast-moving water.{{cite web|url= https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-texas-county-guymon-flooding-rain-weather/61175348 |title=Heavy rainfall brings flooding to Texas County|date=June 19, 2024 |publisher=KOKO News 5|accessdate=June 20, 2024}} The overall project included the [Optima National Wildlife Refuge](/source/Optima_National_Wildlife_Refuge), run by the [US Fish and Wildlife Service](/source/United_States_Fish_and_Wildlife_Service), being initially {{convert|2605|acre|ha}} along [Coldwater Creek](/source/Coldwater_Creek_(Oklahoma))—which has its confluence with the Beaver {{convert|0.2|miles|km}} upstream from the dam— and the Optima Wildlife Management Area, public hunting lands managed by the [Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation](/source/Oklahoma_Department_of_Wildlife_Conservation), initially {{convert|2141|acre|ha}} along the Beaver. However, the decreased size of the lake itself has led to [Optima National Wildlife Refuge](/source/Optima_National_Wildlife_Refuge) being increased to {{convert|4334|acre|ha}}, and the area managed by Oklahoma, including licensed Corps lands above and below the dam, increasing to {{convert|8062|acre|ha}}. ==Disposition studies== Given Optima’s shortcomings, the Corps did an Appraisal Report in 1991 to explore modifying the project, recommending that a reconnaissance level study be conducted to evaluate possible alternatives. But, funding for the follow-up study was not provided.{{cite web|url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IujtFtPUrY |title= Optima Lake Disposition Study Public Information (Scoping) Meeting|date= September 30, 2022|publisher= Usacetulsa, October 5, 2022 (accessed on YouTube) |accessdate=June 5, 2023}} An Initial Appraisal Report was done in 2010, also recommending a reconnaissance level study. Ideas floated in that document included (but were not limited to) piping Guymon sewage plant-treated water to Optima (about 17 miles), transferring lands to other agencies, reselling the lands to the original landowners, or deauthorizing the project and demolishing all structures. However, it was not until 2021 that funding was provided for a Disposition Study. As presented at an October 5, 2022 public meeting, the Disposition Study considered multiple alternatives, including (but not limited to): (a) No Action (the continuation of existing operations), (b) retaining just the dam structure as a dry flood control reservoir, (c) transferring operations to another federal or state agency to maintain a flood control project, or (d) deauthorizing the entire project and disposing of all real property. The study, subsequently put on pause, was reinitiated in early 2024, and the tentative conclusion in November 2024 was to select the No Action alternative, due to the project still meeting its Congressionally authorized purposes other than a water supply yield, and because of the costs which would be associated with disposal of the project and removal of the dam embankment. ==Gallery== {{Gallery |title= |width=200 | height=180 |align=center |footer= |File:Optima Lake and Tower 4-2024.jpg|The lake as viewed from the dam w/intake tower at right, 4-2024 |File:Optima Lake Intake Tower 4-2024.jpg|[Intake tower](/source/Intake_tower) with service bridge at Optima Lake Dam, April 2024 |File:Optima Lake Water Outlet 4-2024.jpg|Water outlet below the dam, April 2024 }} ==References== {{reflist}} * R. Lowitt, 2002. "Optima Dam: A Failed Effort to Irrigate the Oklahoma Panhandle", ''Agricultural History'', 76(2):260-72 ==External links== *[https://www.geosociety.org/news/pr/06-39.htm 2006 Geological Society of America press release] – Lessons to be learned from sites like Optima *USGS online [https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/dv?referred_module=sw&site_no=07232500 discharge data] for inflow to reservoir (1937–1993) *[http://www.travelok.com/listings/view.profile/id.5580 Optima Lake information on TravelOK.com] Official travel and tourism website for the State of Oklahoma * National Public Radio, 2013. [http://stateimpact.npr.org/oklahoma/2013/03/28/the-lessons-of-history-no-longer-apply-when-it-comes-to-building-lakes/ "If You Want to Build a New Lake in Oklahoma, Forget History"], NPR State Impact Oklahoma {{authority control}} Category:Reservoirs in Oklahoma Category:Protected areas of Texas County, Oklahoma Category:Bodies of water of Texas County, Oklahoma Category:1978 establishments in Oklahoma --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Optima Lake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optima_Lake) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optima_Lake?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.