Lake Expected To Go Over Spillway On Friday

Thursday, July 5th 2007, 2:53 pm

By: News On 6

CARTWRIGHT, Okla. (AP) _ Officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers now project that Lake Texoma will go over its spillway Friday morning. The lake level is continuing to rise and was at 639.2 feet at 8 a.m. Thursday morning. The spillway level is at 640 feet.

Current projections have the lake cresting at 641 1/2 feet around July 9th.

Once the water goes over the spillway, it pours into the Red River and causes flooding in mostly rural areas along the river.

Bryan County Emergency Management Director James Dalton says most of the damage will be to pasture and grazing land in the area, although there are about 36 homes in the flood plain. He says officials have been warning farmers and ranchers for several days about potential problems.

The spillway is just to the south of the Lake Texoma dam, which is located on the far east end of the lake.

Many of the marinas and campgrounds are underwater at the lake, which has been closed to boaters and recreational activity for several days.

For more flooding information, check out our STORM ZONE web page.