Waurika Lake Water Levels at Record Lows, Even After Recent Rainfall

• Logan Layden
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  Logan Layden is a reporter and managing editor for StateImpact Oklahoma. He is a native of McAlester, Oklahoma and graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2009. Logan spent three years as a state capitol reporter and local host of All Things Considered for NPR member station KGOU in Norman and six years as a reporter with StateImpact from 2011 to 2017. Most recently, he was news director for McAlester Radio before returning to public radio in 2020.

U.S. Drought Monitor

Parts of southwestern Oklahoma are still dealing with extreme and exceptional drought conditions, and Waurika Lake — which provides drinking water to Lawton and surrounding communities — is suffering badly as a result.

The Lawton Constitution reports water levels were at record lows this week, and explains what it would take for the lake to become full again:

On Tuesday, the important area water source was standing at just 44 percent of its conservation pool. While that amount to 82,000 acre feet of water, enough water to cover 82,000 acres a foot deep, it would take rainfall equivalent to 100,000 acre feet to fill the lake up.

The paper reports it would take 3.5 inches of rain across more than 550 square miles to do the job, which certainly can’t be counted on.

A healthy rain last week couldn’t keep the lake from setting record low water levels.