Keystone Lake Levels 9 Feet Higher Than Normal, Still Rising

Summer is full of surprises this year. Lake levels in Green Country, for the most part, are up.

The water at Keystone Lake is about nine feet higher than normal and climbing. It's expected to crest Wednesday, depending on what the weather does Monday night and Tuesday.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is releasing water from the lake into the Arkansas River, but that's not keeping some low-lying campgrounds from flooding.

The water is rising around the New Mannford campgrounds.

"I mean, this is strange for August," said Oilton resident Lynn Campbell.

The high water is not ideal for a picnic, but the birds don't mind and neither do the fishermen.

"Charlie, he just had to go fishing," Campbell said.

He and his buddy, Charlie Breshears, had finished fishing for the day, and were enjoying the scenery.

"Me and Charlie, we don't get in a real big hurry," Campbell said.

They're also keeping an eye out for what comes with a lake that's on the rise: debris.

"The only thing you got to watch for is a log," he said.

The Arkansas and Cimarron Rivers feed into Keystone Lake.

Sara Goodeyon with the Army Corps of Enigneers says water being released upstream is now making it's way to Keystone. The lake is 11 feet higher than it was last summer, and rising.

"It's a little unusual for this time of year, but everything's working the way that it should," Goodeyon said.

The water is rushing from the Keystone Dam. Jeff Myers stopped by to see the show.

"This is a very unusual event, we don't get to see this very often," Myers said.

He said, about a month ago, the river was so shallow you could walk across it.

Seeing all the water spill into the Arkansas River reminded Myers of the 1986 floods that wiped out parts of Sand Springs and west Tulsa.

But Goodeyon said there's no reason to worry--the chances of that ever happening again are slim.

"It would take a lot of water, you know, several days of rain and just that saturated system just sitting over one area and just dumping several inches of rain," Goodeyon said.

Right now, the dam is spitting out enough water to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in three seconds.

By Friday, the Corps expects to be releasing twice that amount.

The dam also helps produce electricity, so the Corps says in that respect all the water is a blessing.

"We are always monitoring it, keeping an eye on how the weather impacts the projects, so we can stand ready to do whatever is necessary to ensure public health and safety," Goodeyon said.

Lake levels were three feet higher in August 2005 and 10 feet higher in August 1995, which goes to show there are other strange Augusts in the record books.