actually there is another more ominious reason that even if it does go up with the little bit of rain we get it goes right back down.....not a rumor this time.

I talked to the guy that runs the SRA and he told me Dallas is now pulling water from Fork and has been for a while. No rumor.Look at the Texas Water data site and look at lewisville levels history. You'll see they are pumping water into Lewisville. We have to live with it because they contracted for the water and there is nothing we can do about it. Just hope we get enough rain to help keep the level up.

while I agree with Jimmy P about them pulling water I can't really figure how it gets to Lewisville from Fork.

Our pipe goes to a Y at Tawakoni. It can be pulled into Dallas via Mesquite either from either lake but not both at the same time.

Lewisville is reported to have zebra mussels and Fork doesn't have them.

Whie the Dallas folks said last fall that Fork water does not have the right makeup for their system and they would have to add chemicals which makes it more expensive to sell at the same time it doesn't have the mussels and probably won't unless we get some not to careful tournament anglers carry it over here too.

According to studies done Lake Fork can not support zebra mussels.

Sure supports lot's of big bass though.

I don't have a theory. I just have observations. How do you explain the last 7 days, as has already been mentioned? Why was the level dropping twice as fast on the cooler days over the weekend than the hotter days last week?

I'm asking an honest question about observations I've made that don't add up without some sort of outside intervention. I'm not a Fork expert. I hadn't fished the lake before February of 2011 when my wife got me a guided trip. I've kept a good eye on the water levels since then and the water level drops the past couple years immediately after a rain just doesn't seem to add up to me.

I'm not suggesting there are black helicopters or government officials. I'm suggesting there's some explanation that doesn't involve purely evaporation, or something like groundwater replenishment that wouldn't seem to vary based on the amount of time since the last rain. If someone has an explanation that would make sense, I'd love to hear it.

look at this lake level..oct 10 popped up over an inch and gave it all back in 2 days..I watch it almost every day and see this over and over and over..even went by dam office and they swore they've not pulled any water except for 10 in pipe that's should be only a trickle..aggravating

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/tx/nwis/uv/?site_no=08018800&PARAmeter_cd=00062,72020,00054

Cool, DRY air vs warm HUMID air? 'Nuff said. Oh, and by the way, the wind died down, the sponge factor has been accounted for, so... The water is on the slight rise!

I don't know if the air was any more humid on those 4 hot days than on the 2 cool weekend days or not. But temperature plays a much bigger role in evaporation rates. That's why summer evaporation rates are much, much higher than winter even though we have dry air around here most of the time during both seasons.

What is the sponge factor? I saw your first post reference "dry lake bottoms" expanding with the new water. That doesn't make sense to me. Can you explain a bit more? Seems to me the bottom of the lake was wet before the rain as well. Or are you talking about the small portion of land that wasn't wet before the rain but got wet when the lake rose? Since the lake only rose an inch, that doesn't seem like enough land to soak up the water at double the rate of normal evaporation? Or maybe it is enough?

I promise I'm not trying to be difficult. I just can't find an explanation that seems to hold water (pun intended). Maybe my brain is just too small to understand.

Here's what I see...

Cold fronts/Northerns with limited rains and little run-off arrive....strong winds switch to be from North....lake levels at dams (South or SW end of most TX lakes) rise some mostly due to North winds stacking water up at dam. Observers mistakenly identify measurements as a rise as from rain water though they are just wind blown waters.

Post front/cleared skies/winds soon migrate back to mild and Southerly. Lake levels measured at dam fall rapidly simply due to light S winds/good ole gravity pushing previous northern driven cold front waters at dam back into the main lake/arms re-leveling it.

Folks observe the fluctuations in levels measured pre and post cold front and blame it incorrectly on dam releases or on water draws or make up sponge theories or sudden mystery evaporations; stuff that never occurred.

Can't argue your theory, however sure can argue the release that is taking place at Eagle Mountain. Anyone, anyone can drive by the dam and there is a tremendous amounts of water being released.
All going to Lake Worth and the good folks at TRWD make no bones about it. They will literally drain Bridgeport and Eagle Mountain to maintain a level fluctuation of no more than 4 feet at Lake Worth for the water users of Fort Worth!
I would like to know and I ask WHY can't those water users have to practice and be made to conserve water usage just as all of the rest of us around these three lakes?
I live in the country, in Wise county actually and we ARE on strict water conservation.
Again, I as I told that official from TRWD, I realize the lakes are not just for fishing and recreation but for water supply.
My original question to that official is why wasn't the recently constructed and opened launch ramp at Twin Points not made longer and deeper, realizing we here have been in a drought cycle for a number of years.
It is supposed to take planners/engineers/state officials and construction planners ALL thinking and agreeing on this BUT, here we are. A new ramp that is now closed due to 10 feet low water levels. I sure fail to see or agree with the facts that there was any foresight or intelligence in this.
Anyway, we surely need rain and lots of it. East Texas at least, and thankfully is getting a lot more rainfall and runoff.

Yeah, don't mess with my "sponge factor". I like my theory, even if it has no basis in science. Not sure if it helps, but yes, I was talking about newly covered areas. Groundwater Basics is a neat read though only partially related to the subject at hand:

Groundwater Basics

I don't believe it. "nuff said" doesn't cut it. I watch several lakes and none drop like Fork...bookmark the page and watch it.

I think they're pumping it to Dallas to water yards and golf courses..their attitude is screw the fishing even if it's arguably the big bass capital of the planet..would that info be available to the public?

I would expect you could see (hear) for yourself if the pumps are running or not. I know I hear the pumps on Texoma, and when the folks around both lakes are pumping water to their yards.

News flash- the SRA has never lied about the purpose of Fork. Fantastic fishing has just been a side benefit. We'll have to continue adapting to the lower water levels. Just look at it as 6' low is the new pool level.

I was told by a guy this weekend that they had to stop pumping in 2011 to repair some issues with the pumps. Supposedly they started pumping again in June or July. This guy said he works for the construction company that won the repair job.

So, this is not confirmed information. You can take it as I did. Words that came from a guy I was hunting with this weekend. I don't know if it's true or not.