Army Corps of Engineers on how they're managing high lake levels in Oklahoma

The recent rain has caused lake levels to rise above normal. With more rain on the way, the water's going to keep rising. News On 6's Sam Carrico spoke with the Army Corps of Engineers about how people can prepare.

High water levels

A hydrologist with the Corps says the higher levels can cause lakes like Keystone to look different than people are used to, and there are things they can do to stay safe.

The rain didn't keep Tyler Ramsey from Keystone Lake on Thursday. "I don't get rained out. It's just, you know, it's just get a little wet. Never hurts anybody," he said.

But the rain's impact will be around for a while. Keystone was at 20 feet above normal due to recent rains, and there's more rain on the way. "Well, we have 35 reservoirs in the Tulsa District, and the majority of them are above average right now," said Taft Price with the Army Corps of Engineers. He says the solution isn't as simple.

What the Corps is doing

"If it was just a small area, we could release and things would be pretty good. But with many different reservoirs that are above average at this point, then we have to do some additional work to be able to slowly draw each and every one of those down," said Price

Price says they use rainfall data to decide where to release water along the river and how much to send downstream. He says they can only release the water after it's rained, since Oklahoma weather is too unpredictable.

"With Keystone, if we have a four-inch forecast of rain upstream, and we start releasing a bunch of water, what happens? About four inches falls 10 miles farther east. Now it's downstream. So now you had four inches on top of what you already released. Now you created flooding," said Price.

Staying safe

He says anyone going to the lakes while the levels are high should wear a life jacket and be careful on the water. Ramsey says he'll adjust accordingly. "You just got to kind of take it slow and dodge the logs," said Ramsey.

A lot of people are wondering if the high lake levels will impact the Bassmaster this weekend at Lake Tenkiller. The Corps says the lake is only two feet above normal, and those fishermen are professionals who have spent this week getting to know the lake.

You can check lake levels in Oklahoma here.