Bull Shoals reaches record high, on its way down

Thanks to record water releases through the 17 floodgates at Bull Shoals Dam and a few days without measurable rainfall, Bull Shoals Lake is finally starting to recede and visitors to the area were able to get out and enjoy Memorial Day weekend.

The lake crested at 696.52 feet above sea level at 5 p.m. on Friday. The top flood pool is 695 feet. The Friday level is a new record for Bull Shoals Lake, as the swollen reservoir was only inches away from the bridge deck at Theodosia, a rare sight, to say the least. The level had dropped to 694.29 by Tuesday afternoon.

The Army Corps of Engineers also confirmed that the water releases through Bull Shoals Dam recently were record releases. The Corps had all 17 floodgates open at Bull Shoals Dam last week, releasing water at the rate of about 60,000 cubic feet per second at its peak on Thursday.

To put the water releases in perspective, 60,000 cubic feet per second equals about 448,000 gallons per second or roughly 38 billion gallons every day. At that rate, water coming through the floodgates would fill up the inside of the Empire State Building in about 10 minutes.

Such a spectacle became its own tourist attraction as visitors from all over the area lined up with cameras at the overlook next to Bull Shoals Dam to watch and record the thundering release of water from the behemoth structure. "It sounds like Niagara Falls," one woman exclaimed.

Below the dam at Rivercliff Golf Course, the mist from the falling water could be felt on the fairway Thursday where Jack Fouts of Bull Shoals admired the backdrop while he got in a round of golf. "It's quite a sight," Fouts said.

In Ozark County, the swollen lake was not great news for lake-area businesses who were wanting big crowds for Memorial Day weekend. But a few dry, hot days helped draw visitors to area marinas and campgrounds.

"We were a lot busier than I expected," said Jabet Wade of Pontiac Cove Marina. "The campground was full, and the weather definitely helped. It's hit or miss on Memorial Day weekend because the weather can sometimes be cool and rainy," Wade said. "But this year the weather was good."

At Theodosia Marina Resort, where the campground is totally submerged, officials said they, too, were busier than they expected.

Although the marina cannot sell fuel due to the high water, other business at the marina was brisk as boaters found places to launch and enjoy the much larger lake.

On Norfork Lake, both camping areas in Ozark County - Tecumseh and Udall - were closed for the holiday weekend. Norfork Lake crested at 579.40 on Thursday, just below the 580-foot top flood pool mark. Water releases through Norfork Dam, at about 6,000 cfs, paled in comparison to the Bull Shoals releases and certainly were nowhere near the record 82,000 cfs the Corps released from Norfork Dam in 2008. Those releases destroyed many riverside docks and inundated several homes and roads. Norfork was at 579.03 on Tuesday.

The Corps says that despite record releases from Bull Shoals Dam, the White River system of lakes and dams have dramatically reduced flood damage. "Flows below Bull Shoals alone during the height of this spring's floods would have been 12 times greater than current releases," said Laurie Driver, Corps spokesperson.

"During the height of the flood a few weeks ago, Bull Shoals, aided by Table Rock and Beaver lakes upstream, cut what would have been a flow rate of more than 700,000 cfs to the current release. This would have overtopped all the levees from Newport to Clarendon, closing more highways, flooding more homes, and inundating more cropland," Driver said.

But, the Corps says, we're still not out of the woods. Both lakes are still full and any additional rainfall will mean increased water releases from both lakes, and more flooding downstream. And all that water in the lakes will not go away quickly, even under ideal conditions. Bull Shoals Lake is about 40 feet higher than normal for this time of year, while Norfork is about 30 feet higher.

Water flows through the spillways at Bull Shoals Dam. With all 17 floodgates open for several days, Bull Shoals Lake has started to recede.