Eufaula Dam is a dam across the

Canadian River The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River in the United States. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and Oklahoma. The drainage area is about .Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. Completed in 1964, it impounds Eufaula Lake, one of the world's largest man-made lakes, covering 102,500 acres (41,500 hectares). The dam serves to provide

flood control Flood management or flood control are methods used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters. Flooding can be caused by a mix of both natural processes, such as extreme weather upstream, and human changes to waterbodies and ru ...

, water supply,

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...

and

hydroelectric power generation Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and also ...

. It supports a 90 MW power station; three generators produce 30 MW each.Corey Jones
State to mark 50 years since Lake Eufaula's dedication by LBJ
''Tulsa World'' (September 24, 2014).

History

State Highway 71 runs across the top of the dam. The dam was approved by

Rivers and Harbors Act Rivers and Harbors Act may refer to one of many pieces of legislation and appropriations passed by the United States Congress since the first such legislation in 1824. At that time Congress appropriated $75,000 to improve navigation on the Ohio an ...

of 1946 and construction began in December 1956. The cost of the project, completed by the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

, was $121,735,000. The flood-control operations of the dam were in place by February 1964, and the dam dedicated by President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

on September 25, 1964. Heavy rains in the spring of 2015, caused Eufaula Lake to rise so rapidly that the Corps of Engineers had to open the flood gates and release water at rates as high as per second. This was the highest rate since 1990.Tess Maune
Water Pouring Out Of Eufaula Dam Most In 25 Years

KOTV-DT KOTV-DT (channel 6) is a television station in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Griffin Media alongside Muskogee, Oklahoma, Muskogee-licensed The CW, CW affiliate KQCW-DT (channel 19) and radio stations KOTV ...

(May 13, 2015).

References

{{stack, {{Portal, Oklahoma, Water, Renewable energy Dams in Oklahoma Buildings and structures in Haskell County, Oklahoma Buildings and structures in McIntosh County, Oklahoma Hydroelectric power plants in Oklahoma United States Army Corps of Engineers dams Dams completed in 1964 Energy infrastructure completed in 1964