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Lake thunderbird state park office8/4/2023 ![]() ![]() Lake Thunderbird has 76,648 acre feet of capacity assigned to flood control and surcharge capacity of 171,300 acre-feet. The recreation areas of Lake Thunderbird are administered by the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department and the wildlife management areas are administered by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. ![]() A large public hunting area offers such game as ducks, geese, rabbit, deer, squirrel, and quail in season. The State of Oklahoma has established Lake Thunderbird State Park on the shores of the 6,070-acre lake, which is framed by rolling, oak-covered hills and sandy shores with some 86 miles of shoreline at top of active conservation capacity elevation 1039.0.įishing is excellent with largemouth bass, catfish, and walleye being the sought after species. Lake Thunderbird, situated in central Oklahoma near Oklahoma City, Norman, and several other cities, hosts over a million visitors each year. Norman Dam regulates runoff on Little River which, when integrated with existing ground-water sources, satisfies the municipal water needs of the three communities.Ī major secondary benefit of the project is recreation. About 750 acres of land in areas previously subject to flooding can be irrigated since the dam has been constructed, but the tracts are discontinuous and can best be served by individual or small group developments.Īs the primary purpose of the project, municipal water is furnished to the communities of Norman, Midwest City, and Del City by pumping from Lake Thunderbird. No irrigation development is contemplated as part of the project. Construction began on the pipelines and pumping facilities in 1963 and was completed in 1965. The Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District for Norman Project was formed by decree of the District Court of Cleveland County, Oklahoma, on September 10, 1959, and validated on January 31, 1961.Ĭonstruction began on Norman Dam in 1962 and was completed in 1965. Reports of the Bureau of Reclamation studies appeared successively as a feasibility repot in December 1954, issued as House Document 420, 85th Congress 2d session, in 1959 a reappraisal report in May 1959 and the definite plan report in May 1961. In 1953, the Central Oklahoma Water Users Association was formed, excluding Tinker Air Force Base and the town of Moore. It was concluded from this study that during early years of the proposed development, a surplus of water would be available for use by Oklahoma City, but that within a 25- to 30-year period, the other beneficiaries would require all available water. In June 1953, Oklahoma CIty joined with Norman, Midwest City, Del City, Moore, and Tinker Air Force Base to request that they be included in studies of a project at a site downstream on Little River from the Upper Norman site. As a result of this request, a reconnaissance study of a reservoir at the Upper Norman site was made in 1949. Local interests continued their endeavor to enlist support for development of surface water resources, and the Bureau of Reclamation was asked to include studies of the Little River Basin – looking to development of a water supply for the city of Norman, flood control, and other benefits – with the studies of the Arkansas-White-Red Basin begun in 1946. Following a public hearing on the reports, in 1948 a Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors recommended to the Chief of Engineers that the unfavorable opinion expressed in the District Engineer's report and concurred in by the Division Engineer be upheld. Both reports concluded that improvements to Little River for flood control and allied water uses were not economically justified. This was followed in 1947 by a report by the Tulsa District, Corps of Enginers. In the course of normal investigations of flood potentials of the rivers of the United States, the Corps of Engineers submitted a report on the Little River that appeared as House Document No. A progressive lowering of the water table and deterioration in the quality of water withdrawn from wells encouraged the local communities to seek supplemental water resources. However, discovery of oil and natural gas led to a rapidly expanding population, with consequently heavier demands on the underground water supply. ![]() The relatively high rainfall-33 to 35 inches in the project area inhibited demand for irrigation water supplies, and the abundance of ground water available in aquifers beneath the land in the vicinity of Oklahoma City slowed development of surface water resources. The cattle ranches of the early days soon converted to a crop-based economy. Settlement of the public lands in the former Indian Territory progressed rapidly once they were opened to entry. ![]()
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