Oklahoma Lake that Provides Water to Thousands Drying Up
By: KFOR
Updated: January 15, 2013
There's serious concern an Oklahoma community's water supply, which could run dry in less than two months.
Lone Chimney Lake, which sits 12 miles northeast of Stillwater, provides water to 16,000 residents in the surrounding area.
On Monday morning Payne County Commissioners declared an emergency for water supply needs.
District Two Commissioner Chris Reding said nearly 16,000 Payne County residents could soon be without water because Lone Chimney Lake is now 11 feet below its normal level; its lowest level ever.
He said recent cold temperatures are preventing a "fish kill," where all the lake's fish die from a lack of oxygen.
If that happens, the remaining four feet of lake water would be untreatable.
"Imagine thousands and thousands of rotting corpses in your water supply," Reding said. "That's really what you end up with."
To read more:
