Kaw Lake Water Level
Oklahoma · Arkansas River
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Water level history
About Kaw Lake
Kaw Lake is a reservoir on the Arkansas River in Oklahoma, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 1010 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Kaw Lake's water level
Kaw Lake is the upstream gate on the Arkansas River in northern Oklahoma, about eight miles east of Ponca City, and its drainage area is what sets it apart: 38,771 square miles. Almost everything that happens on the upper Arkansas arrives here first, which makes Kaw a significant part of the flood picture for Keystone and Tulsa downstream. The Corps of Engineers holds the conservation pool at 1,010 feet and has 34.5 feet of flood storage above that, to 1,044.5 feet, with a surcharge pool to 1,047.5 and the dam crest at 1,056.5. Eight tainter gates, each fifty by forty-seven feet, can pass 653,000 cubic feet per second.
The record inflow is not the one most people assume. October 1986 brought a peak inflow of 185,700 cubic feet per second, larger than the 165,800 recorded during the April to June 2019 flood, though 2019 was the event that set record pools across the Tulsa District. Kaw also generates power, roughly 35,000 kilowatts through a single penstock, operated by the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority since August 1989. It is one of the few Corps lakes here authorized for flood control, hydropower, navigation, water supply, water quality, recreation, and fish and wildlife all at once.
The lake has a heavy history under it. The town of Kaw City was moved two miles west in 1966 so the reservoir could be filled, and the relocated town now sits nearly surrounded by water; the old Santa Fe depot went with it and became the town museum. The Corps also relocated the Kaw Nation's cemetery to Newkirk, moved the Kaw Council House, and displaced the residents of Washungah, the tribal townsite. More than a hundred remains were left behind at what is now Washunga Bay, and were only rediscovered by the Kaw Nation's environmental staff decades later and reinterred at Newkirk in October 2000. The campground at Washunga Bay carries that name. More recently, Enid completed a 70-mile, 36-inch pipeline from Kaw, cutting the city's demand on groundwater by about 35 percent.
Kaw Lake — frequently asked
What is Kaw Lake's full pool elevation?
The top of the conservation pool is 1,010 feet above sea level, holding about 280,000 acre-feet. The top of the flood-control pool is 1,044.5 feet, holding roughly 877,000 acre-feet, so flood storage is more than three times the conservation storage. The surcharge pool reaches 1,047.5 feet and the top of the dam is 1,056.5.
Why does Kaw Lake rise so much during floods?
Because it drains 38,771 square miles of the upper Arkansas River basin, one of the largest catchments of any lake on this site. Kaw is effectively the first flood-control gate for that whole system, which is why its releases matter to Keystone and Tulsa downstream, and why the Corps built 34.5 feet of flood pool into it.
What is Kaw Lake's largest recorded flood?
By peak inflow it is October 1986, at 185,700 cubic feet per second. The April to June 2019 flood was slightly smaller by that measure at 165,800 cubic feet per second, although 2019 was the event that set eleven record pools across Corps dams in the Tulsa District. Popular accounts often assume 2019 was the biggest here.
Was a town flooded to build Kaw Lake?
Yes. Kaw City was relocated two miles west in 1966, and the original townsite went under; the relocated town sits nearly surrounded by water and the old railway depot became its museum. The Corps also moved the Kaw Nation's cemetery to Newkirk, relocated the Kaw Council House and displaced the residents of Washungah. Over a hundred remains left behind at Washunga Bay were reinterred at Newkirk in October 2000.
Who uses water from Kaw Lake?
Enid, Oklahoma is the main user, through a 70-mile, 36-inch raw water pipeline and a 10.5 million gallon per day treatment plant, a project funded by a local sales tax and completed in 2026. It reduces Enid's draw on the aquifer by about 35 percent. Ponca City holds a water right at Kaw as well, but its day-to-day supply comes from a wellfield along the Arkansas River.
Where do you fish and camp at Kaw Lake?
Corps areas include Osage Cove, Sarge Creek, Washunga Bay, McFadden Cove, Burbank Landing, Coon Creek, Traders Bend, Bear Creek Cove, Sandy Park and Pioneer Park. Sarge Creek has an off-road vehicle area, which is unusual for a Corps lake. Paddlefish snagging below the dam is rated excellent, and the lake holds white, striped and hybrid striped bass, three catfish species and crappie.
Other lakes near Kaw Lake
- Keystone LakeOK
- Hugo LakeOK
- Lake of the ArbucklesOK
- Foss ReservoirOK
- Oologah LakeOK
- Fort Gibson LakeOK
See current levels for all 16 Oklahoma lakes and reservoirs →
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