| Sardis Lake | |
|---|---|
&sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:USACE_Sardis_Lake_and_Dam.jpg) Aerial view of Sardis Lake | |
&sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:USA_Oklahoma_relief_location_map.svg)  Sardis Lake &sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:Usa_edcp_relief_location_map.png) Sardis Lake | |
| Location | Pushmataha / Latimer counties, Oklahoma, US |
| Coordinates | 34°39′30″N 95°22′44″W / 34.65833°N 95.37889°W |
| Type | reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Jackfork Creek |
| Primary outflows | Jackfork Creek |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Surface area | 14,360 acres (58 km2) |
| Average depth | 17 ft (5.2 m) |
| Water volume | 274,333 acre⋅ft (338.4 hm3) |
| Shore length1 | 117 mi (188 km) |
| Surface elevation | 599 ft (183 m) |
| Islands | None |
| Settlements | Clayton |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Sardis Lake is a reservoir in Pushmataha and Latimer counties in Oklahoma, USA. It was created about 1980 as the result of a dam constructed on Jackfork Creek, a tributary of the Kiamichi River, by the United States Corps of Engineers under contract to the state. It is named for the now-defunct town of Sardis, Oklahoma, which had to be abandoned before the area was submerged in the flooding of the lake. .[a] The lake is located approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Clayton. It is part of the Kiamichi Basin.
A number of issues arose about the state's repayment of debt for the project, the allocation of water from the lake, and proposals by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board to sell lake water outside the state. These issues resulted in a 2011 federal lawsuit by the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations, which had been excluded from negotiations. The state filed a countersuit in 2012, and mediation began that year.
In 2016 an historic water settlement agreement was reached among the State of Oklahoma, Chickasaw Nation and Choctaw Nation, and Oklahoma City, and ratified by these parties and the United States Congress. In brief it provided for the state to have administration and regulatory authority over Sardis Lake, as well as preserving water rights for the Nations in their treaty territories, and allocating a major portion of water from Sardis Lake for the needs of Oklahoma City, dependent on it conducting conservation measures.
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