Waurika Lake
| Waurika Lake | |
|---|---|
Waurika Lake Waurika Lake | |
| Location | Jefferson County, Oklahoma |
| Coordinates | 34°16′55″N 98°04′40″W / 34.28194°N 98.07778°W |
| Type | Reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Beaver Creek, Oklahoma |
| Primary outflows | Beaver Creek, Oklahoma |
| Catchment area | 562 mi2 (1,460 km2) |
| Managing agency | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |
| Built | 1973 |
| First flooded | 1980 |
| Max. length | 11 mi (18 km) |
| Surface area | 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) |
| Water volume | 192,000 acre⋅ft (0.237 km3) |
| Shore length1 | 80 mi (130 km) |
| Surface elevation | 951 ft (290 m) |
| Settlements | Waurika, Oklahoma |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Waurika Lake is a reservoir in southwestern Oklahoma, near Waurika. It is primarily in Jefferson County, but small parts of it are in Stephens County and Cotton County, Oklahoma. Its primary purposes are to provide flood control, irrigation, water supply, water quality, fish and wildlife, recreation, and other conservation needs of the public. The lake supplies water for the cities of Lawton, Duncan, Comanche, Temple, and Waurika. The wildlife management area comprises about 6,040 acres (24.4 km2).
Continued operation of the lake water pumping system is being jeopardized by a buildup of silt near the water intake. The extremely hot summers of 2011-2013 have caused excessive evaporation of lake water and unusually high consumption by communities that use the water. Water officials estimated that pumping may have had to cease in April 2015, unless corrective actions could be taken soon, although an extremely rainy storm season in May of that year raised the lake levels to 90.36% capacity.. As of April 2025, the Waurika lake sits at 88.73% capacity, according to the corps of engineers. The multiple communities currently using the Waurika lake as their primary source of drinking water, have made this capacity the new "Full capacity". This consumption continues to threaten the future of Waurika lake.