General
The Washita Basin Project is in the Washita River Basin in southwestern Oklahoma. Principal features of the project are Foss Dam and Reservoir, Fort Cobb Dam and Reservoir, and appurtenant works to provide a domestic, municipal, and industrial water supply for several cities and towns in that section of the State. The project also contributes flood control, recreation, and fish and wildlife benefits.
History
The first non-Indian settlements in the area were small scattered trading posts and military posts. Fort Washita was founded in 1842 on the east bank of the river about 22 miles above its mouth, Fort Arbuckle in 1851 near Wildhorse Creek in southern Murray County, and Fort Cobb in 1859 at the mouth of Pond (Cobb) Creek. About 1865, the cattle industry became a factor in settlement of the area. During the Civil War, vast herds of cattle had accumulated in Texas and at the end of the war many were driven across Oklahoma to shipping points in Kansas. One of the principal routes for these drives was the famous Chisholm Trail, which originally extended from Anadarko, Oklahoma, to Wichita, Kansas. The men conducting the cattle drives became interested in the large areas of grazing lands in this territory and leased from the Indians extensive acreages on which ranch operators and their crews became established. Following passage of the Organic Act of 1890, the Oklahoma Territory was organized. The Cheyenne and Arapahoe Tribes were given allotments of land, and unallotted lands in Roger Mills, Custer, and Washita Counties were opened to entry in 1892.
Construction
Foss Dam was constructed during 1958-1961, and Fort Cobb Dam was built in 1958-1959. The Foss Aqueduct was constructed during 1960-1962 and the Anadarko Aqueduct was constructed during 1959-1961.
Plan
Foss Dam and Reservoir, on the Washita River in Custer County, provides regulation of the river flows and municipal and industrial water supplies for the cities of Clinton, Cordell, Hobart, and Bessie, Oklahoma. The water is transported from the reservoir to the project cities through 50.8 miles of aqueduct and laterals, three pumping plants, and chlorination and other facilities. Fort Cobb Dam and Reservoir are on Pond (Cobb) Creek, a tributary of the Washita River in Caddo County. The facilities regulate runoff to furnish surface water supplies for the municipal and industrial water requirements of the city of Anadarko and the Western Farmers Electric Cooperative near Anadarko. Water is conveyed from the reservoir through a 20.9-mile-long gravity-flow aqueduct system. The authorizing act for Washita Basin Project, Public Law 419, 84th Congress, included provision for the storage, regulation, and distribution of irrigation water for 26,000 acres of land, limited to a 10-year period from the commencement of delivery of municipal water from the reservoir on which the irrigation unit is dependent. Repayment negotiations for irrigation development downstream of Fort Cobb and Foss Reservoirs were not successful; therefore, no irrigation facilities were constructed. Foss Dam is on the Washita River approximately 15 miles west of Clinton, Oklahoma. It is a zoned earthfill structure with a crest width of 30 feet and a crest length of 18,120 feet. The structural height is 142 feet with 10,638,430 cubic yards of embankment, at top of flood pool level. Foss Reservoir has an area of 13,141 acres. Total capacity of the reservoir is 436,812 acre-feet. The uncontrolled morning-glory spillway is at the right abutment of the dam. Fort Cobb Dam is on Pond (Cobb) Creek about 5 miles north of Fort Cobb, and roughly 5 miles above the confluence of Cobb Creek with the Washita River. The dam is a zoned earthfill structure containing 3,569,185 cubic yards of embankment. The crest width is 30 feet, and the crest length is 9,900 feet. The structural height of the dam is 122 feet. Fort Cobb Reservoir has a total capacity of 143,740 acre-feet and covers an area of 5,956 acres at top of flood pool level. The uncontrolled morning-glory spillway in the left abutment consists of a concrete intake structure, concrete conduit, and concrete chute and stilling basin.
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