GRDA Seeks Postponement on Lake Drawdown

Vinita — The Grand River Dam Authority has announced it has made a formal request to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to delay the refilling of the W.R. Holway Reservoir for approximately one to two months. If that request is approved, the proposed drawdown of Grand Lake, which GRDA announced just earlier this week, could be postponed.
"Because we have been able to forge a good working relationship with FERC, GRDA staff is optimistic the Commission will grant our request to delay the refill of the Holway Reservoir until the spring rains," said GRDA Chief Executive Officer Kevin Easley, who plans to meet with FERC officials next week to discuss the matter.
In a letter to Grand Lake dockowners and accompanying press release, GRDA had announced earlier this week that it would begin drawing water out of Grand Lake in late January. That drawdown would then insure the level of Lake Hudson was high enough to facilitate the refill of Holway Reservoir, located above the Salina Pumped Storage Project (SPSP), on the Saline Creek arm of Lake Hudson, southeast of Salina. The only "pumped storage" facility in Oklahoma, the SPSP utilizes six hydroelectric turbine-generators that also operate as pumps, moving water from Hudson through penstocks into the Holway Reservoir. Water can be stored in that reservoir and released back through the turbines to generate electricity.
In October 2005, GRDA drained the reservoir to begin a FERC-mandated project, which included repairs and inspections in the reservoir canal. With that portion of the work now complete, the plan was to refill the reservoir during the month of February, which would have caused the level of Grand to drop at a rate of one-half to three-fourths of a foot per week. However, severe drought conditions across this region of the country has kept the level of all area lakes below normal for several months.
"We understand that filling the Holway Reservoir at this time would cause a hardship for many property owners on Grand Lake," said Easley. "So we are simply asking FERC to let us delay the work until we begin to see significant rainfall in the watershed."
GRDA expects to receive a decision from FERC on its request sometime next week.

Grand Lake to be Lowered to Elevation 738

(Editors Note: Please see above updated story received at publication time.)

In an effort to complete a project mandated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Grand River Dam Authority is announcing it must begin a drawdown of Grand Lake at the end of January. According to GRDA officials, the drawdown could lower the elevation of Grand by as much as two and a half (2.5) feet during February, with an approximate drop in elevation of one-half to three-quarters of a foot per week. As of press time, Grand Lake elevation was 741 feet. Target elevation for December and January is 742 feet. Based on current estimates, the drawdown is expected to bring Grand Lake near 738 feet.
GRDA Chief Executive Officer Kevin Easley said letters have already been sent to Grand Lake dock owners, to give them notice prior to the drawdown so they can make the necessary preparations. Easley also said GRDA is allowing Grand Lake dock owners to protect their docks from grounding by relocating them to deeper water during the drawdown. Then, when Grand Lake’s elevation returns to 741 feet, they must reattach their dock at the permitted location. Those who plan to move their docks, must contact GRDA at (918) 782-3382, extensions 3352, 3374 or 3373, during regular business hours (8 AM - 4 PM) Monday through Friday.
"We know this may be a hardship for Grand Lake residents and we certainly don’t like to do it, but to fulfill FERC requirements to complete this project, we have to move forward with this," said Easley.
The drawdown stems from a project at GRDA’s Salina Pumped Storage Project (SPSP), located on the Saline Creek arm of Lake Hudson, southeast of Salina. Built in the late 1960s following the construction of GRDA’s Robert S. Kerr Dam, the SPSP is the only "pumped storage" facility in Oklahoma. The six turbine-generators inside the powerhouse also operate as pumps, moving water from Lake Hudson through penstocks to the W.R. Holway Reservoir, carved out of the hills, 250 feet above the SPSP powerhouse. Water can be stored in that reservoir and released back through the turbines to generate electricity.
"At the request of FERC, GRDA drained W.R. Holway Reservoir in October, so a comprehensive inspection, and repairs could be made to the reservoir canal," said Bob Sullivan, GRDA’s assistant general manager of risk management and regulatory compliance. "That work is nearly complete now and FERC agrees that GRDA should begin filling the reservoir at the end of January, to insure the structural integrity of the earthen dam."
In order to have enough water to pump into the reservoir, Lake Hudson must be at an elevation of 618 feet. However, because of extended drought conditions across the region and lack of inflows into the Grand River system, Hudson’s current elevation is approximately 615 feet. The lake’s average elevation is 619 feet.
"We have to raise Hudson by at least three feet before we can even begin filling the Holway Reservoir," said Anthony Due, GRDA’s assistant general manager of operations and hydro. After that GRDA will have to maintain Hudson at 618 feet to continue pumping until the reservoir is full. To fill the reservoir will require approximately 48,200 acre feet of water.
However, Easley added that if the Grand River watershed (located in Southeast Kansas and Southwest Missouri) does receive significant rainfall during January, the expected drawdown could be scaled back. "Heavy inflows into the Grand River system over the next few weeks would allow us to alter this plan," he said.
GRDA is responsible for proper management of not only Grand Lake, but all the waters of the Grand River system, said Easley "and proper management means following through on FERC requirements. However, because Grand Lake residents are important GRDA constituents, we want to do everything we can to keep them informed of what is taking place, and the reasons why it must be done."
Photo above...the W.R. Holway Reservoir and penstocks to Lake Hudson, at full levels. (courtesy GRDA)

An Editorial...Delay the Draining

Every now and then an issue comes along for which the announced solution is not pleasant. And that is the case with lowering Grand Lake to elevation 738 in the middle of the second worst draught in the state's history, to fill another lake that was drawn down in the same draught, for Federally-mandated purposes.
FERC, that strange bunch in Washington, makes decisions based on timetables without any thought as to reality. They mandate that the W.R. Holway Reservoir be drained down every five years for inspections and maintenance.
And so it was done in September and now the work is completed and the reservoir is being filled as we speak. It fills from Lake Hudson, which lies below, via a pump-back engineering system so that the water can be used twice…once down, and back up, reversing the turbines. A great engineering concept that works, when the lakes are full.
W.R. Holway Reservoir was named after the chief engineer that built the Pensacola Dam, the coal fired plant at Pryor, and the Salina pump-back project. It is 180 feet deep in some places.
It needs about 40 vertical feet of water to fill back up. One can only wonder where all the water went when it was drained in September.

Generation at all three GRDA hydro facilities has been at a standstill since September, when Grand Lake was drawn down to fulfill another FERC mandate, the planting of Japanese Millet to feed ducks who might fly over. Two feet of water disappeared in two weeks.
In the draught, we wonder how this Millet is working, since the lake did not come back up and we had no rain. Even weeds need water. Another Federal program that needs to go away.
So now to fill Lake Hudson we must drain Grand Lake and affect 18,000 waterfront property owners, their docks, lifts, water pumps, shoreline erosion, fire fighting capabilities, and more. And in the middle of this six year draught.

If W.R. Holway Reservoir has been dry for five months, what's another two or three? Why try to fill it now. Let's wait until April and see if we get some rain.
We can only assume that there is more here than meets the eye, and somehow megawatts has something to do with it.

Fortunately, in 1957 the Grand Lake Association under the leadership of Jim Swinney of Monkey Island, had the legislature pass the law that says GRDA cannot draw down the lake below 735 elevation, as they did in the 1950's to elevation 712.
Now if you want to see a lake in crisis, you should have been here for that one. No need for bridges across Honey Creek…you could walk on the mud and stumps.
There are a few people who say go ahead and wreck the recreation, the lake was built for flood control and power generation. (The turbines will run to elevation 715, although not very efficiently.)

But the lake developed into the engine that drives the economy of five counties in NE Oklahoma, through recreation, which now shares equal importance with flood control and power generation.

Insufficient notice has been given to dock owners; with only a handfull of dock companies on the lake, it is unlikely that everyone will get his dock moved by late January. Moving docks is not something the ordinary homeowner should tackle either. In the small coves there will be hundreds of lifts that won't go down, including GRDA CEO Kevin Easley's. There will be hundreds of boats in association or multiple slip docks that will be dry. Many cannot be moved because there is no place for them to go. If no rain falls from now through summer, an economic disaster for the lake area will occur.

We recall the 1950's, when we moved our dock every weekend down the cove towards Duck Creek. Since nobody lived there we could do so without asking. The draught lasted three years and we walked nearly a mile to and from the boat dock, built of oil drums and 2x4's. Our water supply to the cabin dried up so we rigged up a cistern draining from the roof to store rainwater, when it rained. We built a boat lift using pulleys and chains. There was not much on Duck Creek but the Cherokee Yacht Club which had a small dock in the cove. Harbors View was on dry land. Most marinas went broke.
We lived through it but Dad always referred to the GRDA as the GDRA.

So here we go again. We can only hope that GRDA can hold off for a couple of months, or we get a ton of rain in Kansas and Missouri, soon.
Otherwise, it is going to be an ugly summer.

Photos of W.R. Holway Reservoir at Present

Photo at left shows W.R. Holway at current level this week at where the canal joins the lake; photo below shows canal in early filling stage where it joins with penstocks. The lake will need to rise nearly 40 feet to be usable for pumpback generation purposes.

City Council Tables Cox Cable Purchase

A resolution approving the assignment of Cox Cable's Grove franchise to Cebridge Connections was tabled at the request of the city attorney at Tuesday night's regular City Council meeting.
Ron Cates said he needed some time to look into the change and find out more about Cebridge Connections, which is in process of purchasing Cox franchises in West Texas, North Carolina, California, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Missouri.
About 1.3 million customers will be affected which will push Cebridge into the eighth largest cable operator in the country. Cebridge is managed by Cequel III, LLC. Both headquarter in St. Louis.

Pete Abel of Cequel III told The Observer Thursday that the entire existing Cox system in Grove would be upgraded by the end of the year to accommodate high speed internet service at the 550 megahertz level. "It is budgeted and in the plan for this year, providing we don't run into any unforseen circumstances," he said. He said that HD TV was not in the plan for this year but would be added depending on "local circumstances" in 2007. Late April or May is the target date for the ownership change, he said.

In other action some discussion occurred over the grant application to the FAA for Federal funds for airport expansion at the Grove Airport. Airport Manager Terri Abercrombie presented the form, already signed by Gary Trippensee, chairman of the airport trust authority, to be co-signed by City Manager Bill Galletly.
"We're muddying the waters," Galletly said, "the application does not provide for two applicants, it presents confusion, and I am not going to sign it as is," he added.
Council approved the application by a 3-1 vote, to be signed by only the city manager and forwarded to the FAA seeking $323,000 in funding, to be matched with $17,000 in local funds. Dave Helms voted against the issue and Mayor Carolyn Nuckolls was absent.
The money will be used to purchase 59.79 acres of land adjacent to the airport. The land in question has been put back on the market by the owners, Mike and Linda Prather. Cost of the property in December was $315,000. It has been appraised at $317,625, said Abercrombie.

The Council also voted to declare eight SCBA packs as surplus equipment and donate them to the Town of Eucha Fire Department; Grove will still have seven units as backup which are out of compliance, and recently purchased 15 new SCBA's.
Grove resident Judith Read said the rural fire departments each receive about $50,000 a year in funds from the half-cent fire tax, and recommended getting something for surplus property rather than giving it away.

A plaque was presented to the Employee of the Month, Dan Hight, Street Department worker, and Mike Russell, EMS employee, for his many years of service to Grove.

Also approved by Council were requests from Bill & Bobbie Kidwell relating to change of ownership for a parcel of land at 21st and Highway 59, and a change in ownership via a permanent easement or quit claim deed for a parcel of land on the Northwest Corner at 235 E Third near Computer Boy. An encroachment on city property exists on the building which has been there for 30 years. The request was made by Richard Chisholm.

GRDA Holds Final Hearing on Docks

GRDA held its final public hearing Tuesday at its Vinita headquarters on the possibility of changing rules regarding dock placements for private docks on Grand Lake and Lake Hudson.
Chaired by Mike Keifer, GRDA attorney, a half-dozen people spoke on the subject and when it was over there was general agreement that one rule could not work for the entire lake, and approvals should be given on a per case basis.
Current rules require docks to be limited to 125 feet from elevation 750 out in the water, or one-third of the distance from the adjacent shoreline to the nearest opposite shoreline, whichever distance is less. Most agreed that elimination of the 125 rule would be proper and would cut back on the number of waiver hearings.
And, most agreed that keeping the one-third rule would be necessary and proper.
Also considered was whether docks placed parallel to the shoreline would impact environmental or safety issues and again, this should be considered on a case by case basis.
"We can't write one rule for everyone," said Keifer.
Putting more emphasis on the GRDA compliance officers for dock approvals would speed up the process, several people suggested.
Rules for Commercial docks, those with more than 10 slips on a for-profit basis, were not discussed. These require both GRDA and FERC approvals.
Mike Brady, president of the Duck Creek Homeowners Association, brought a case of shoreline management plans from other lakes, pointing out that nine of the 11 lakes represented require footage and length restrictions on docks.
"Paris cove was ruined with the help of GRDA." He said the 125 foot/one third rule came about after Bomar's Marina built a breakwater in 1972 in what is now Arrowhead South cove, extending nearly across the cove entrance. The breakwater is still in place.
"We need enforcement of the rules we already have," he added.
Bill Goldner, developer of North Beach, said "we need to be flexible" and spoke in favor of eliminating the 125-foot rule and said being on Grand Lake was a privilege not taken lightly.

Ron Coker, former GRDA CEO, Dies

The Grand River Dam Authority is mourning the loss of one of its longtime leaders with the passing of Ron Coker (Miami). Coker died January 2. Services are set for 10 a.m. Friday at Miami's First Christian Church. Coker was 71.
Associated with GRDA for over two decades, Coker holds the distinction of being the only person to serve both on the GRDA Board of Directors and as general manager/chief executive officer. He was appointed to the GRDA Board in January 1980 by Oklahoma Governor George Nigh and served through 1987. In July 1988, the GRDA Board hired Coker to lead the organization as CEO. He served in that capacity until February 2004, and retired from GRDA in 2005 after serving one year as transition coordinator.
His tenure as general manager is the longest in GRDA’s 71-year history. "Ron Coker had a tremendous impact on the GRDA organization during his tenure, and remains one of the key figures in GRDA history and development," said GRDA Chief Executive Officer Kevin Easley. "GRDA extends its deepest condolences to his family." As a board member, Coker helped lead GRDA through the securing of funding and construction of the GRDA Coal-Fired Complex in the early 1980s. As general manager, his tenure was characterized by GRDA’s ongoing facility and reliability improvements to better serve its customers. Coker led GRDA through aggressive preventive maintenance programs at each of its generating facilities, negotiations for new contracts and extensions with existing customers, and a period of significant rate stability.
Other highlights of his GRDA leadership included a $30 million rehabilitation project at Pensacola Dam, the rebuild of the canal and water at the Salina Pumped Storage Project in the late 1980s and the implementation of an aggressive right-of-way maintenance/rehabilitation program. Coker also led GRDA through increased power marketing efforts, the 50-year relicensing of Pensacola Dam, and other efforts to demonstrate the value of GRDA and public power to the electric industry and state of Oklahoma. In 2002, the Municipal Electric Systems of Oklahoma (MESO) recognized Coker with the Ray Duffy Personal Service Award.

The Canine Corner...by Missy MacTavish

This week I decided to begin a new service to my Grove readers called "Ask the Dog." Many of you have questions so I will attempt to answer them here.
Q: Why did OU not play in the Cotton Bowl where they could have earned lots more money?
A: This was due to a Zebra running on the field during a previous game and screwing up the final score which caused OU to lose.

Q: We went out to eat at a local restaurant New Year's Eve and they served soup without any spoons. Why?
A: Didn't you get your straw?

Q: Why is GRDA going to lower Grand Lake in February?
A: They want to do a massive cleanup of the shoreline, removing all of the huge old dead trees which have been floating around for 60 years and in some cases are used as houses. To make sure the lake does not rise they are going to do it in the middle of the second worst draught in Oklahoma history.

Q: Why are the cable TV companies in Grove so behind the times?
A: No one watches TV in Grove. Everyone is out burning leaves.

Q: I am confused over Part D of Medicare; which program should I enroll in?
A: None of them. Stop taking drugs and you will save a lot of money and probably feel better.

Q: Why do they call this area Green Country when it is Brown?
A: It used to be Green but then it quit raining. They are thinking about changing the name of the state to Arizona. But I think that name is already taken.

Q: What does it mean when people say "they"?
A. It means anyone other than yourself that is invisible.
If you have questions for Ask the Dog, please email them to groveobserver@yahoo.com.
Until next time...Miss Missy.

Grove to get High Power TV Station

KELF, channel 48 in Grove, will be going from 900 watts to 100,000 watts and a new tower beginning Feb. 1, offering service to all of northeast Oklahoma.
Family Media sold the station several months ago to Green Country Television, owned by Jerry and Don Turner of Miami, who also own channel 18 in Miami. KELF will also be carried on local cable systems and will be an affiliate of the American Television Network.
Currently, the low powered station can only been seen in a small portion of Grove.

YMCA Offers New Saturday Programs

To help busy parents, the Grand Lake Family YMCA is offering two Saturday morning programs intended to provide moms and dads with some free time knowing their children are in a safe, fun, educational environment.
“Krafty Kids” will be offered on alternate Saturdays from 9:00 to 10:30 am beginning January 14 with consecutive classes on January 28, February 11 and 25, and March 11.
On January 7, the new “Cartoon Club” will debut and will meet every Saturday from 8:00 am to 12:30 pm.
Both programs will offer arts and crafts, games, and lots of fun activities for children in kindergarten through fifth grade. The cost for “Kraft Kids” is $4 per day for YMCA members and $6 per day for non-members. “Cartoon Club” is $15 per day for members and $20 per day for non-members. Programs will be held at the YMCA located in the old library on Elm Street in downtown Grove.
Pre-registration is required for both programs. For more information, contact your Family YMCA in Grove at 918-786-5774.