Lake of the Arbuckles Water Level
Lake of the Arbuckles is at 871.69 ft today (Oct 19), 0.31 ft below its 872 ft full pool, up 0.56 ft this week.
Oklahoma · Rock Creek
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Water level history
About Lake of the Arbuckles
Lake of the Arbuckles is a reservoir on the Rock Creek in Oklahoma, operated by U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. It's a clear-water lake in the Arbuckle Mountains near Sulphur. Its full summer pool sits at 872 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Lake of the Arbuckles's water level
Lake of the Arbuckles is a Bureau of Reclamation reservoir on Rock Creek, a tributary of the Washita River, about six miles southwest of Sulphur in Murray County. Arbuckle Dam sits four miles above the creek's mouth and backs up three streams: Rock Creek itself, Buckhorn Creek, which rises at Lowrance Springs and fills the eastern arm, and Guy Sandy Creek, which enters the western arm. Only 126 square miles drain to the dam, and in dry weather the inflow is mostly spring water and artesian wells, with late summer base flow on Rock Creek commonly down to 3 to 6 cubic feet per second. Meanwhile the Arbuckle Master Conservancy District keeps pumping. Reclamation lists a dependable yield of 24,000 acre-feet a year, delivered to Ardmore, Davis, Wynnewood and Dougherty and to a major oil refinery near Wynnewood through aqueducts of 15 and 17.8 miles. There is no hydropower, and the Corps has no authority to run a drought plan here, so in a long dry spell the lake simply falls. From June 2012 to May 2015 it never once reached its 872 foot conservation pool.
Everything about how this lake is run hangs on two elevations. Below 872.0 feet, the top of the conservation pool, the conservancy district schedules releases for water supply. Between 872.0 and 885.3 feet the lake is holding flood water, and the Corps of Engineers in Tulsa directs releases, capped so Rock Creek stays under bankfull, about 15,000 cubic feet per second, and the Washita River gauge near Dickson stays below 27 feet. That band holds 36,400 acre-feet. At 885.3 the water reaches the crest of the spillway, which is not a gated structure at all but an uncontrolled drop inlet feeding a conduit 9 1/2 feet across, and Reclamation takes charge, passing inflow or the most the outlets can carry. The lake can still jump quickly: on 27 and 28 April 2024 it rose about eight feet in a day. Recreation is an authorized purpose, but the water control manual states that no storage is reserved to hold the lake at any particular level for it.
Congress authorized the Arbuckle Project in August 1962. The dam contract was awarded on 9 June 1964, the earthfill embankment was finished on 30 June 1966, storage began on 11 January 1967, and the conservation pool first filled on 12 May 1968. The dam stands 150 feet high and 1,900 feet long. The lake lies inside Chickasaw National Recreation Area, which Congress formed in 1976 by joining Platt National Park and the Arbuckle Recreation Area, and the National Park Service runs the campgrounds, docks and ramps. The Park Service calls the water unusually clear. The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation counts 36 miles of shoreline and a maximum depth of 82 feet, and it stocks Florida strain largemouth bass here every year. Two of the heaviest largemouth on the state's all time top twenty list came from this lake: 14 pounds 8 ounces, caught by Allen Gifford on 27 February 2008, and 14 pounds 5.76 ounces, caught by Trevor Yates on 28 February 2022. Neither is the state record, which is 14 pounds 13.7 ounces from Cedar Lake in 2013.
Lake of the Arbuckles — frequently asked
What is full pool at Lake of the Arbuckles?
872.0 feet, the top of the conservation pool. At that level the lake covers about 2,350 acres and holds roughly 72,400 acre-feet, of which 62,600 acre-feet between 827 and 872 feet is the usable water supply. Above 872 the lake is storing flood water up to the spillway crest at 885.3 feet. The design maximum pool is 914.2 feet, and the top of the dam is 920 feet.
What is the record high level at Lake of the Arbuckles?
The highest daily reading in Reclamation's record, which runs from October 1990, is 891.03 feet on 18 June 2015, nearly 6 feet over the spillway crest and 19 feet above conservation pool. It came as the remnants of Tropical Storm Bill dropped more than 13 inches of rain in the Arbuckle Mountains. The Corps' 2003 water control manual had listed 889.0 feet in May 1990 as the pool of record. The gauge on this page only keeps readings since 2023, so its high and low are recent marks, not these records.
What is the record low at Lake of the Arbuckles?
The lowest reading in Reclamation's daily record since 1990 is 862.51 feet in late January and February 2015, about 9 1/2 feet below conservation pool, with around 52,000 acre-feet in storage. The lake had been below 872 since June 2012. By 18 June, after a wet May and the remnants of Tropical Storm Bill, it stood more than 28 feet higher.
Why is Lake of the Arbuckles below full pool?
Because it is a water supply lake with a small watershed. Only 126 square miles drain to the dam, and dry weather inflow comes mostly from springs, so summer inflow is a trickle while the conservancy district keeps pumping to Ardmore, Wynnewood, Davis, Dougherty and the refinery. Evaporation takes its share. Nothing is held back for recreation, so readings a few feet under 872 are normal in dry years.
Why did the lake jump in April 2024?
A tornado struck Sulphur and the park on 27 April 2024, and the Park Service reported heavy flooding along with it. Reclamation's daily readings show the lake at 872.26 feet on 27 April and 880.22 feet the next morning, about eight feet higher overnight. The Guy Sandy boat launch and fishing dock reopened in early May. The lake fell back below 875 feet within about ten days.
At what lake level do docks and ramps flood?
The Corps' 2003 water control manual listed the park facilities affected by high water. Most fishing docks go under as the lake approaches 875 feet. At 880 feet the Buckhorn access road and ranger station, the Guy Sandy parking lot and the Goddard Youth Camp boat dock are affected. The boat storage at The Point is reached around 884 feet. Facilities have been renovated since, so check with the park.
Who controls the water level at Lake of the Arbuckles?
Reclamation owns the dam and the Arbuckle Master Conservancy District handles day to day operation and water supply. When the lake is between 872.0 and 885.3 feet, the Corps of Engineers' Tulsa District directs flood releases. Above 885.3 feet Reclamation directs releases again. The National Park Service manages recreation, and a launch permit is required for every motorized boat on the lake.
Other lakes near Lake of the Arbuckles
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