Agricultural News
Lake Levels Dropping; Drought Worsens In Southwest Oklahoma
Wed, 26 Sep 2012 18:17:07 CDT
The hottest temperatures of summer may be behind us, but the drought in western and southwestern Oklahoma is far from over. Lake levels continued to drop throughout September in much of the state.
Tom Buchanan, District Manager of the Lugert-Altus Irrigation District, and Oklahoma Farm Bureau Board Member, says conditions for farmers in in his district are dire. (Ron Hays spoke with Buchanan and you can hear the full interview by clicking on the LISTEN BAR at the bottom of this story.)
"We're in our second, maybe our third year of an extended drought. We are in the grips of it. And it's tightening its noose. It's very tough. Of the 46,000 acres in the irrigation district, the Lugert-Altus Irrigation District, there might be about 500 that could possibly be harvested.
"The local economies are starting to feel the effects of that. The producers of the area are starting to wonder 'When are we going to get enough inflow? When are we going to get those significant rains again?'"
Buchanan reports that cotton harvest will be minimal in southwest Oklahoma in the irrigated areas. He said there is some pivot-irrigated acreage in Tillman and Harmon counties that will yield some cotton.
"Oklahoma's going to look at a very marginal cotton crop in comparison to what we were doing three years ago."
Buchanan says lake levels are extremely low, especially at Altus-Lugert.
"We're at about 18 percent capacity. We've been that way now for about two years. But this was the first year since 1946 when that irrigation district was established that we have released zero water, no water, for irrigation purposes. We did have a little run for municipal water, but this is the first time since '46 that we've had no water for irrigation.
"And that's a real, real change for people in that community who have gotten used to that occurring year after year after year.
Other lakes in the area have reported tremendous outflows this summer. Hugo Lake fell from 93 percent full to 49 percent from May 2 to September 4. The Great Salt Planes Lake dropped 45 points from 105 percent of capacity to 60 percent of capacity. Fort Supply Lake decreased from 100 percent full to 70 percent full over the summer.
Associate State Climatologist Gary McManus says continuing unseasonably warm temperatures aren't helping matters. He says highs for this time of year should be in the low 80s, with lows in the upper 50s to 60s. We are currently running more than ten degrees above average.
Buchanan says that regardless of temperature, now is the time for significant rains to fall if farmers in southwestern Oklahoma are to have chance for irrigation water for next year.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI
Top Agricultural News
More Headlines...
