The Army Corps of Engineers has started releasing millions of gallons of water from El Dorado Lake after the recent heavy rains and flooding.
El Dorado public utilities director Kurt Bookout told KFDI news that the lake is about seven and half feet above the conservation pool level. He said that’s the third highest level the lake has ever been, after the 1998 and 1995 floods. Bookout said the water is being released at about 4200 cubic feet per second, and that will release about 1.7 gallons per minute or 2.7 billion gallons in a 24-hour period.
Bookout said the goal is to get the lake level down as quick as possible before the next rain event, and there are storms in the forecast for Saturday. He said at the current rate, the lake will drop about six inches per day, so it will take time to release the necessary amount of water.
People are urged to stay off the Walnut River during the release. Crews had to rescue two kayakers on Wednesday when they got into trouble as the release began.
The water will flow south into Oklahoma, to Kaw Lake and Keystone Lake before it eventually reaches the Gulf of Mexico.
