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Nathan Bardin/The News-Democrat
How wet?
Waurikans left wondering how high creeks would rise
WAURIKA — “They did close the lake down and all the campers are evacuating. The lake’s the highest I’ve ever seen it. Things that have never been under water before are under water. It’s amazing.”
That realization had Waurika City Manager Chuck Brown wondering what other amazing — and, perhaps, tragic — occurrences were ahead for his hometown, as another day of rainfall brought Beaver and Cow creeks to flood stage Tuesday afternoon.
Already that day, the U.S. Corps of Engineers had taken the rare step of closing the flood gates at Waurika Lake. Portions of Meridian and Eighth streets had been closed by water build up, Old Lake Road had been blocked off and on the east side of town, Cow Creek had flooded businesses and fields along a low-lying portion of U.S. Highway 70.
To complicate matters more, about 6 p.m., Brown and Jefferson County Emergency Management Director Steve Goza learned a water main in the southwest end of town had broken, leaving residents of that area without water.
By noon Tuesday, total rainfall over a six-day period was only 4.23 inches. But that water was being dumped into water sources that were already bulging and on ground that was still soaking from nearly two months of frequent rain.
Sitting on the bridge on Highway 70, near Waurika Golf Course, at mid-afternoon Goza said, “The water’s rising fast and furious. Beaver Creek and Cow creek are both out in spots, but everything is holding its own right now. It’s just a waiting game to see how high the water’s going to get, and if and when we have to start evacuating people.
“It’s possible we’ll have to evacuate all the low-level areas next to the creeks. Most people are smart enough to know when it’s time to go to higher ground. We’re a ‘chili bowl’ town, and people here know there’s always a concern because Beaver and Cow creeks meet in Waurika.”
At 4:14 p.m. Tuesday, the National Weather Service in Norman issued a flood warning that read: “The flood stage of Beaver Creek is 25 feet. The Beaver Creek will continuing rising and crest near 31.9 feet around 1 a.m. Wednesday. The Beaver Creek will fall below flood stage around 4 p.m. Wednesday.”
With Beaver Creek expected to rise 5 feet above flood stage, Brown wasn’t sure Tuesday afternoon if the flood waters would reach into downtown Waurika. “There is a threat to downtown,” he said at that time, “because all that water from up north hasn’t made it down here, yet.”
Parts of Oklahoma Highway 5 were under water by mid-afternoon and traffic normally headed in that direction to reach Cotton County or Lawton was being rerouted north on U.S. Highway 81. Other rural roads were partially or completely under water from Waurika down to Sugden.
With the flood gates closed, Waurika Lake was experiencing what Brown felt was an historic build up of water. “I was there when they impounded the water in 1978, and I’ve never seen the lake like this before,” he said.
The Corps of Engineers officially closed the lake early in the afternoon and began evacuating campers. At press time Tuesday, there was no word on how long the lake would be closed.
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