With The Crazy Amount Of Rain We’ve Had, Why Is McClellan Dry?

We've seen the photos and videos. We've had numbers waved around in celebration over lakes filling back up with water. However, not everyone is ready to throw a party just yet.

Why is McClellan still dry?

Lake McClellan, After All This, Is Still Dry

I couldn't believe it when my editor first brought it to my attention. How could this lake still be bone dry, or pretty close to it?

The heavens have opened up and dumped rain on us for days on end and there's more in the forecast. The Canadian River resembles a river again. There were waterfalls at Tanglewood.

There has to be a reason why Lake McClellan, even after all this, is still just a dry crater in the Earth. A pretty crater, mind you, but still just a crater none the less.

Is It The Dams Along The Creek Feeding Lake McClellan?

This seems to be the running theory. According to those who have spent a whole lot more time around McClellan than I have, McCellan Creek is what feeds the lake.

Unfortunately, for everyone who would love to have a lake to enjoy, there is a series of dams that a majority of folks lay the blame on. It's not some kind of weird logical leap to believe that dams further up the creek, blocking the flow, would be a reason why the lake hasn't seen much water.

It Wasn't That Long Ago McClellan Had Water

I went back to news articles from 2016, and at that time headlines claimed that Lake McClellan was back to its former glory. There was water in the lake. People were camping, fishing, and boating again.

Then, over time, it all just dried up.

Now, there isn't much there at all; and while the rest of the panhandle is worried about what to do with all the water we've been getting, McClellan is left to wonder when it will be getting its share.

Hopefully soon. It would be nice to have another full lake in the area. The more the merrier.