Collaboration for Dam Rehabilitation at Historic Research Station
An NRCS Partnership with ARS on a Watershed Dam Rehabilitation brings the dam to current state safety standards and ensures continued irrigation for research station fields.
By Carrie Chlebanowski, State Public Affairs Specialist, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Stillwater, Oklahoma
The Oklahoma and Central Plains Agricultural Research Center (OCPARC) Livestock, Forage and Pasture Management Research Unit (LFPMRU), formerly the Southern Great Plains Field Station (SGPFS), was established by the USDA in 1913 in Woodward, Oklahoma. At the founding, the stated reason for choosing the location for research and development of plant cultivation techniques couldn’t have been simpler- “if crops grew here, they would grow anywhere.” The facility grew in scope and acreage under the support of newly created USDA agencies like the Soil Erosion Service, now the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and was operated by the USDA’s Agriculture Research Service (ARS).
Within the first 20 years, the research facility had become so valuable to local farmers and ranchers that they successfully lobbied Congress in 1934 to prevent its closure and reinstate its funding as part of the New Deal program. In 1938, to provide irrigation for the research efforts to improve the forages and other crops important to the Southern Great Plains, construction began on the Field Station Lake Dam (also called Experiment Lake Dam), along Spring Creek on the station’s acreage. The dam project was completed in 1939.
Over the next several decades, the LFPMRU research focus fully shifted from field crops and trees-including jujubes, to grazing management and experimental grass breeding and growing. Methods developed at the research station were used to reclaim over 5 million acres of grazing land ravaged during the Dust Bowl. The 50-acre capacity lake not only provided irrigation for the new grasses being grown and tested, but also provided water to the cattle at the research station’s dairy and grazing operations. Thanks in part to stocking efforts by the Oklahoma Fish and Game Department in the 1940’s, Experiment Lake also became a favorite fishing and recreation spot for many Woodward residents.
At the time of construction, the Experiment Lake Dam was classified as a low hazard structure. However, in 2011, an inspection by NRCS Civil Engineer Monte Jones confirmed the new potential for loss of life if the dam were to breach, and consequently the site was reclassified as high hazard according to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board dam safety requirements. To reduce risk and bring the dam to current state safety standards, a rehabilitation project was proposed in 2019, and funding was provided by Congress.
Because of their longstanding collaborative relationship in Oklahoma, ARS partnered with NRCS to design the dam rehabilitation and administer the construction contracting for the project as part of an interagency agreement. The NRCS Design Engineer at the time (current Planning Engineer), Valerie Glasgow, and then Project Engineer (current State Conservation Engineer), Diana Perry, were overseen in those roles by now retired NRCS State Conservation Engineer, Chris Stoner. Construction on the new dam began in 2022 under the helm of NRCS Construction Inspector, Charlie Banning.
The modern design of the dam features a new 415-foot-wide concrete spillway based on ARS scientific research to safely convey flows over the dam during flood events. A new drain and pumping system were included in the project to provide irrigation more efficiently to the research fields of the station. The dam will also be part of a pilot program to monitor the performance and safety of earthen dams.
On May 20, 2024, ARS and NRCS agency representatives joined with local Woodward stakeholders and national officials, including Congressman Frank Lucas, R-OK, in a ceremony to celebrate and dedicate the new Experiment Lake Dam structure. NRCS State Conservationist Jeanne Hamilton noted the importance of recognizing structure rehabilitation projects like this one, “With 2107 watershed dams, Oklahoma has the most of any US State. While not initially built with flood control as the concern, the Experiment Lake Dam represents perfectly how NRCS has, thanks to the research of our USDA partner ARS, supported, designed, and constructed these dams to ensure their structural integrity for the next 100 years. In doing so, the people and the land adjacent to this dam continue to be protected.”