TULSA, Okla. —The Tulsa District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced today the temporary closure of two boat ramps and the placement of new buoys on the west end of Skiatook Lake.
The Corps closed the boat ramps at Twin Points and Hominy Landing recreation areas due to low water levels brought on by the continuing drought.
The placement of buoys was done to increase awareness of changes in water depth normally associated with drought conditions.
According to Lee Perry, Skiatook Lake Manager, the lake is deep and water levels remain more than sufficient to accommodate the coming recreation season.
“Despite the drought, we are looking forward to a good year for fishing and most of the lake continues to be sufficiently deep for a full range of boating and water recreation,” said Perry. “Depending on levels of rainfall, the two ramps in question may also re-open later in the spring or summer.”
The majority of the lake’s ramps continue to remain open and boaters can access the lake via Corps of Engineer ramps at Tall Chief Cove, Skiatook Point, Osage Park, Black Dog and Bull Creek. Two commercially owned marinas also provide lake ramp access and full service recreational amenities.
“Of course, it’s always good for visitors to use extra caution when boating in unfamiliar or shallow areas,” added Perry. “We want people to have fun but also stress the need to do so in a safe manner, avoid unanticipated obstacles and make sure everyone is properly seated and wearing life vests while taking part in boating activities.”
Low lake levels are the result of drought conditions and below normal inflows into the watershed above Skiatook Lake. These weather patterns have been in effect since 2010, with little relief. In addition to providing flood control and recreation, Skiatook Lake's authorized purposes also include water supply and water quality. Water quality flow releases are made year round to augment the natural flow of water in Bird Creek, downstream of the dam. Downstream releases are necessary to avoid fish kills, maintain the aquatic biota and prevent violation of NPDES permit conditions for several industries and city public works projects. Corps officials state that this is a weather problem, not a use or operations problem and only significant runoff in the water shed will solve the problem.
The Indian Nations Council of Governments (INCOG), Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) and the Corps of Engineers are working collaboratively in a "good faith" effort that will allow preservation of the lake level as long as possible. The end result of the agency partnership is to provide the Corps of Engineers with more flexibility in its plan for discharges from the lake while maintaining environmental protection and water quality standards.
Announcements concerning the changes in the Corps' release plan will be made during March and public meetings conducted in April. Additional information about recreation opportunities and boating safety is available on our Tulsa District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website.
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