Upstream Downpour Has Done Some Good For Three Reservoirs
By GLORIA MASONER / McCook Daily Gazette
June 13, 2007
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Six-year-old Berklie Haag of Rushville, stands near the warning signs posted at the boat dock near the marina at Harry Strunk Lake. Berklie is the daughter of Nate and Marty Haag of Rushville and the granddaughter of Charley and Betsy Haag of Oberlin. (Gloria Masoner/McCook Daily Gazette)
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The heavy rains earlier this month in the Hayes County area destroyed roads, washed out bridges and caused major havoc for residents in that area. But for those downstream, those rains have provided much needed relief for three area reservoirs.
According to Bill Peck of the Great Plains Bureau of Reclamation office in McCook, Harry Strunk Reservoir reached nearly 6.1 feet into the flood pool at the peak of the inflow into the lake.
Information on the Bureau’s Web site, on May 30, showed the lake was at a storage level of 37,773 acre feet, with an elevation of 2,367.20. By the next day, on May 31, the lake had risen to an elevation of 2,370.62 feet with a storage level of 44,805 acre feet. At its peak, on June 3, the storage level was at 48,333 acre feet at an elevation of 2,372.19 — a 4.99-foot increase in less than four days. According to Peck, during the peak inflow, water was running into the lake at approximately 3,500 feet per second.
Peck said the reservoir is dropping about three tenths of an inch a day due to the automatic overflow of the dam’s spillway.
Harry Strunk Lake hasn’t reached those kind of levels since 1993, when the maximum capacity of 46,545 acre feet was reached on July 28. The highest level ever reached was 53,468 acre-feet on March 23, 1963.
Only one boat dock is currently open at the lake. It can be found on Trail 4.
Just a few miles to the east and north, Hugh Butler Lake near McCook, has reached an elevation of 2,576.19 feet, up from 2,568.46 on May 29 — a total of 7.71 feet increase in just 12 days.
According to Peck, the lake is 23 percent from reaching full pool and 94 percent of average.
According to Roy Patterson, manager of the Frenchman-Cambridge Irrigation District, there are no plans to release water from the Hugh Butler Lake this year; however they may rethink the situation, should the lake continue to rise.
While Hugh Butler and Harry Strunk Reservoirs are showing marked improvement, the Enders and Swanson Reservoirs are continuing to struggle. Enders Lake remains at 51 percent of average, showing no significant increase over the last three years. Swanson Reservoir, however, is showing some improvement.
On June 10, 2004, the lake was at 33 percent of average, whereas, on June 10, 2007 it was at 61.57 percent of average. Last year, on June 10, the lake was as 50 percent of average.
There are no plans to release water from the Swanson Reservoir, according to Patterson.
While Hayes County residents are hoping that its next rains come in a more moderate downfall, Peck said, “If we were to get another rain like the one in Hayes County, Hugh Butler would be full.