U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of Oklahoma. The project provides a municipal and industrial water supply to seven Oklahoma towns. The project also provides over 3,500 acres of land and 7,300 acres of water surface for recreation and provides over 6,300 acres of land and over 5,500 acres of water surface for wildlife management, including the Washita National Wildlife Refuge.
History
Investigations by the
United States Bureau of Reclamation
The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...
began in 1945 to create a plan to address the basin's water supply problems and needs with further land and water resources development. Surveys were then conducted in 1946 and 1951 to determine what form of improvement was needed. The project was authorized in 1956 and work began on both the Foss Reservoir and the Fort Cobb Reservoir in 1958. The Fort Cobb Dam was completed in 1959 and the Foss Dam in 1961. Construction on the aqueduct for the Foss Reservoir lasted from 1960 to 1962 and on the Anadarko (Fort Cobb) aqueduct from 1958 to 1961.
United States Bureau of Reclamation
The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...