A friend and I are looking at 320 acres just north of Wichita Falls over in Oklahoma. There used to be a large 80 acre lake on the place but the dam broke in 1977 and the owner (old lady) never got it fixed. If we purchased this property our goal would be to rebuild the lake at some point. Does anyone have any insight on the questions that we need to be asking to make sure that we could even do this? I would think if you wanted to build a new pond or lake that you would have to get permits and such, is it the same with fixing an existing structure? Any other hidden things to ask about would be appreciated.

In kansas it's ok to rebuild existing ponds.
No permits needed.

Hey Justin...Roscoe here from TBH. I see you made your way over here. Alot of good folks on this forum & tons of knowledge. Be sure and post some of the pics you have of the old lake. I'm sure by morning you'll have some ideas and maybe even some questions thrown your way.

Ross

What's TBH?

A friend of mine in California was forever fighting with just about every government agency there was with his land. He had what they wanted and they just messed with him all they could.

When he put his pond in, they came down in droves. Literally several car loads over several months. He just told them it was an existing pond and he just cleaned it out and strengthened the dam.

They couldn't prove otherwise and it stoped them cold. He was also connected politicaly in the Bay Area and really enjoyed messing with them, so it was all good.

Before doing anything to a dam that has already failed once, I'd be sure to figure out why it failed. My guess is the spillway couldn't handle an extreme storm. Of course, it could also have been a simple maintenace issue.

Good luck,
Eddie

I is my understanding that something that size does take governmental approval. Call your LOCAL NRCS and ask general questions about it.

TBH=Texas Bowhunter. I saw HH's question on that forum and told him that PondBoss was the place to go for info on private lakes.

Thanks for the info guys, I will give the folks at the NRCS a call and see what the deal is. I have some decent pictures of the dam, its pretty big.. about 150-200 yards across, probably going to take a lot of work and $$$ to get fixed. I struggled trying to post some pictures last night, I'll mess with it again this evening. Again, I appreciate your input, thanks for pointing me this way Roscoe.

HH94 - What caused the break in 1977? Do you have any pics?

Gator

HH,
If you receive any answer than an enthusiastic, "Yes, we can help," call my office, please. (903)564-5372. Please tell Kathy you need to speak with me, that you posted on the website and I asked you to call.

Its my understanding that the dam broke in 1977 due to very heavy rains and a very strong north wind, the dam is at the south end of the lake and the water got real high and combined with the waves ended up going over the dam and found a weak spot and bam! Bob, I appreciate it. I did not get a chance to call yesterday but will today.

This wouldn't be known has whites lake would it?

That it would Rockytopper...

I was just told by someone who was associated with the Sawyer Browns lead singer, that they had spent $650,000 to try to make a 20 acre lake work lining some of it with large limestone rocks for the looks, and it never did hold water. I've seen the lake, for the first time recently. Oh well, just another small concert fee.

Ouch.

I only bring this up because to build a dam on an 80 acre lake that won't fail, will be big bucks. $500,000 is nothing to some people, but a lot to me.

Rob, financially, I couldn't do it. Ain't no way. However, if he could, it would increase the land value by millions. Of course, the tax man would also find out.

$$ Yes, but your own 80 acre lake. Aint that something to dream about! Wow.

Gator

Dave, I see he is in Houston. I suppose it would increase the value there. Other areas it wouldn't make a difference. I've seen many large lakes in TN, say 50+- acres sell on farms and it not really make a difference at all. I'm sure it would make a huge difference in other areas. Maybe because it was marketed locally rather than nationally, I don't know. From what I gather, if something is over 5 or 10 acres, it becomes nearly impossible to manage as a fishery by one or two people. Not that fish management matters to many people or landowners. If money is no object, I would hire the experts and proceed. I just saw a 60 acre parcel w' a 17 acre lake go for $225,000. I would think the dam alone would approach that, but apparently the people who sold it didn't figure it in.

Regarding Sawyer Brown's lead singers former lake, the 15 acre lake immediately downstream appears to hold like a bathtub. :p

Rob, he lives in Houston but the land is in arid Oklahoma. That's a pretty big deal but not as big as it would be here, close to a major metropolitan area. If it was close to Houston, the value would be close to incalculable.

The 60 acre place with the 17 acres would be a very expensive place here. Of course, the other topography would make a difference. I would guess that it would go for 2 or 3 times that amount. Maybe more, much more.