McGee Creek Reservoir
Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox body of water McGee Creek Reservoir is a reservoir in Atoka County, Oklahoma. It impounds the waters of McGee Creek and several smaller streams, including Potapo,Template:Efn Panther, Little Bugaboo, Bear, Blue, Mill, and Crooked creeks, all of which are tributaries of Muddy Boggy River. According to the Bureau of Reclamation (BuRec), the reservoir was designed to extend Template:Convert up McGee Creek and Template:Convert up Potapo Creek when the water is at "conservation level.<ref name="BuRec">"McGee Creek Project." Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of the Interior. April 5, 2013. Accessed August 27, 2015.</ref>
McGee Creek Lake is bordered by the McGee Creek Wildlife Management Area, the McGee Creek Natural State Scenic Recreation Area, and McGee Creek State Park. The combined effect of these protected lands is to afford the area the same rural and isolated nature it has always known.<ref>Information via Google Maps.</ref>
Description
Reservoir
McGee Creek Lake is Template:Convert east of Atoka; Template:Convert west of Antlers and Template:Convert north of Farris, Oklahoma<ref>"McGee Creek State Park," Shop Oklahoma. Accessed September 1, 2015.</ref>
The reservoir, which filled at the completion of the United States Bureau of Reclamation McGee Dam in 1987, consists of Template:Convert surface area and Template:Convert of shoreline. Its pool elevation is Template:Convert above sea level and it holds Template:Convert. At flood stage its pool elevation is Template:Convert above sea level and its storage capacity rises to Template:Convert.<ref>"McGee Creek", Oklahoma Water Atlas, Oklahoma Water Resources Board, available via http://www.owrb.ok.gov/news/publications/wa/lakes/McGeeCreek.php.</ref> The reservoir has a maximum depth of Template:Convert at the dam when the water is at conservation pool level.<ref name="BuRec"/>
Dam and river outlet
The dam is an earth-filled structure that is Template:Convert long and Template:Convert high across McGee Creek. An earthen dike Template:Convert long and Template:Convert high, blocks several saddles on the west side of the reservoir rim. A riprap blanket prevents erosion of the upstream sides of both the dam and the dike.<ref name="BuRec"/> The river outlet works located on the east side of the dam release water to McGee Creek under extreme conditions. The works include an intake structure, three conduits (each about Template:Convert in diameter), a stilling basin, associated gates and controls. The discharge channel to McGee Creek can pass flows ranging from Template:Convert to Template:Convert per second.<ref name="BuRec"/>
Municipal water outlet
Water from the lake is routinely pumped to municipal consumers via pipeline. The municipal outlet works has a bypass that diverts Template:Convert directly downstream to McGee Creek. This provides a constant stream of water that is beneficial to marine life. The river outlet works, located on the east side of the dam, handle this function. A separate intake leads to three conduits (each Template:Convert diameter), which terminate in a stilling basin, that has a single pipe leading to the three variable-capacity centrifugal discharge pumps. The pumps discharge into a surge tank at the Atoka Lake, Template:Convert away, via a concrete pipe that is Template:Convert diameter. Other pumps then transfer the water to Oklahoma City.<ref name="BuRec"/>
History
The McGee Creek Project and McGee Creek Authority were established in 1978 to develop and maintain the McGee Creek Reservoir to provide a municipal and industrial water supply for areas in central and southern Oklahoma, including Oklahoma City and Atoka County. Under the direct supervision of superintendent Glen Russell, the authority has operated and maintained the reservoir and associated facilities, including an attached water pipeline, a surge tank, a regulating tank, a maintenance complex, and land easements surrounding these facilities. The U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation owns the reservoir, but has granted McGee Creek Authority ownership title to the project office, aqueduct and appurtenances, and other operation and maintenance related facilities.