Arcadia Lake Water Level
Oklahoma · Deep Fork River
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Water level history
About Arcadia Lake
Arcadia Lake is a reservoir on the Deep Fork River in Oklahoma, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It's a recreation lake just east of Edmond and Oklahoma City. Its full summer pool sits at 1006 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Arcadia Lake's water level
Arcadia Lake sits on the Deep Fork River just east of Edmond, and the arrangement behind it is genuinely unusual. The Corps of Engineers built it under a 1970 authorization and still operates the water control side, but recreation and maintenance are run by the City of Edmond through the Edmond Public Works Authority, with the city as local sponsor funding the water supply storage. Most Corps lakes are Corps-run end to end; here the ranger you meet works for the city. Construction started in October 1980 and diversion began in April 1985, with the lake generally described as opening in 1987, the same year Edmond's treatment plant came online.
It is a small, contained reservoir by the standards of this list: a 105-square-mile drainage, a conservation pool at 1,006 feet holding around 27,000 acre-feet, and a flood pool reaching 1,029.5 feet and about 89,000 acre-feet. Twenty-three and a half feet of flood storage on a modest watershed makes for a lake that rises and falls in a fairly narrow band compared with the Corps reservoirs on bigger rivers. A 2007 hydrographic survey found the sedimentation rate relatively low, with most deposition concentrated in the Deep Fork arm.
Arcadia is Edmond's primary water source, treated at a 12-million-gallon-a-day plant using granular activated carbon filtration, lime softening and ozonation. The city also draws on the Garber-Wellington aquifer and has bought water from Oklahoma City as a secondary source since 2001. Four parks ring the lake, Scissortail, Spring Creek, Central State and Edmond, with boat ramps at three of them, and it is a listed bald eagle watching site. The fishery leans on largemouth bass, white crappie, saugeye and blue and channel catfish, supported by brush piles and by saugeye and hybrid striped bass stocking, with surveys on a five-year cycle.
Arcadia Lake — frequently asked
Who runs Arcadia Lake?
Both the Corps of Engineers and the City of Edmond, in an unusual split. The Corps built the lake under a 1970 authorization and still handles water control operation. Recreation and maintenance are managed by the City of Edmond through the Edmond Public Works Authority, with the city as local sponsor funding the water supply storage. It is not correct to call it either a purely federal or a purely municipal lake.
What is Arcadia Lake's full pool elevation?
The top of the conservation pool is 1,006 feet above sea level, holding roughly 27,000 acre-feet. The top of the flood-control pool is 1,029.5 feet, holding about 89,000 acre-feet, and the top of the dam is 1,054. The drainage area is 105 square miles, which is small compared with most Corps reservoirs.
Does Edmond get its water from Arcadia Lake?
Yes, it is the city's primary source. Water is treated at the Arcadia Lake plant, rated at 12 million gallons a day and completed in 1987, using granular activated carbon filtration, lime softening and ozonation. Edmond also draws on the Garber-Wellington aquifer through municipal wells and has purchased water from Oklahoma City as a secondary source since 2001.
Why does Arcadia Lake move less than other Oklahoma lakes?
Its watershed is small. Only 105 square miles of the Deep Fork drains to the dam, against 23.5 feet of flood storage, so ordinary storms do not deliver the volumes that swing lakes on bigger rivers. A 2007 hydrographic survey also found the sedimentation rate relatively low, with what deposition there is concentrated in the Deep Fork arm.
Where are the boat ramps at Arcadia Lake?
There are four parks around the lake, Scissortail, Spring Creek, Central State and Edmond, with boat ramps at Central State Park, Edmond Park and Spring Creek Park. A store near the ramps sells fishing gear and bait and rents paddle boats. There is also a fishing pier and a heated covered dock for year-round fishing.
What fish are in Arcadia Lake?
Largemouth bass, white crappie, saugeye, blue and channel catfish, bluegill and freshwater drum. State managers place brush piles for habitat, stock saugeye and hybrid striped bass, and survey the lake every five years. Striped bass and hybrids are limited to five combined per day with only two at twenty inches or longer. Fishing is not allowed on the ponds and wetland areas.
Other lakes near Arcadia Lake
- Broken Bow LakeOK
- Lake Altus-LugertOK
- Canton LakeOK
- Lake TexomaTX/OK
- Lake EufaulaOK
- Lake TenkillerOK
See current levels for all 16 Oklahoma lakes and reservoirs →
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