Oak Creek Reservoir (Colorado River Basin)
Oak Creek Reservoir is located five miles southeast of Blackwell in Coke County, on Oak Creek, a tributary of the Colorado River. The project is owned and operated by City of Sweetwater for municipal and industrial water supply and recreational purposes. Authorization (Water Right Permit No. 1519) for this reservoir was issued by the State Board of Water Engineers on August 29, 1949. Construction of the dam began on July 10, 1950 and was completed in May 1952. Deliberate impoundment of water began May 12, 1953. The dam is a rolled-earth embankment of 3,800 feet long with a maximum height of 95 feet and elevation at the top, 2,014 feet above mean sea level. The service spillway is a cut channel located beyond the right end of the dam. The crest length is 300 feet at elevation 2,000 feet above mean sea level. The emergency spillway, located between the service spillway and the main dam, has a crest length of 800 feet at elevation 2,005 feet above mean sea level. The reservoir had a capacity of 39,360 acre-feet encompassing a surface area of 2,375 acres at the conservation pool elevation of 2,000 feet above mean sea level. The dam controls a drainage area of approximately 244 square miles.