Lake Ouachita

Item #: SCP-4283

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: Due to its impermeable nature, SCP-4283 cannot be contained with any currently available technology. Instead, most Foundation efforts will be focused on controlling knowledge regarding SCP-4283 by spreading disinformation, cooperating with local authorities, and closely monitoring activity on, in, and around Lake Ouachita.

Furthermore, covert operations, code-named Operation Blakely, are to take place regarding the redistribution and use of SCP-4283's output flow. These operations are headquartered at Site-441, a collective location designation consisting of SCP-4283's containment facility and the Blakely Mountain Dam. While use of SCP-4283's effect in order to generate electricity and supply drinking water to local municipalities has been approved, the statistics regarding the output of Lake Ouachita must be altered to appear nominal to the general public.

Per the ruling of the Ethics Committee, The Foundation shall not sell any electricity or water that is a product of SCP-4283 to any party, be it a private entity, corporation, government, or municipality. Products of SCP-4283 are to be used or stored on site, and any surplus generated by the facility must be given free of cost or compensation to a party approved by the Ethics Committee (e.g. the city of Hot Springs, AR or the State of Arkansas.)

While containment has not been successful thus far, research into permanently neutralizing the anomaly will continue until a solution is reached, per the Site-441 Director.

Description: SCP-4283 is an aquatic anomaly located above the surface of the Lake Ouachita Reservoir (Pronounced WAH-shi-tah) near Hot Springs, Arkansas. The anomaly is approximately 41 meters in length and 16 meters in width at its largest extent, but has an irregular boundary, resembling a rip or tear. SCP-4283 is located over the Northeastern section of the lake, approximately 3 meters above the surface of the lake at its lowest point and 19 meters above the surface at its highest point. It is currently unclear whether the anomaly is dimensional or spatial.

As of December, 2018, approximately 4,600m3 of non-anomalous water pours from SCP-4283 each second. Samples of the water have revealed that it resembles normal lake water in every way, containing the appropriate levels of sediment and detritus, a nominal pH level, and identifiable minerals in solution with the water. All matter exiting SCP-4283 is, however, completely devoid of life.

The flow rate of SCP-4283 increases by approximately 63m3 per second each year.

The boundary that defines the shape of SCP-4283 is only permeable in one direction. Matter cannot enter from outside of the anomaly by any means, creating a perfect one way inlet between Lake Ouachita and a second unknown location, and complicating containment.

All attempts to block or restrict the flow of water from SCP-4283 have been in vain. Containers built around the anomaly will eventually undergo a catastrophic failure due to constantly increasing water pressure.

A record of notable containment attempts can be seen below.

+ Notable Containment Attempts

- Notable Containment Attempts

Containment Method: Attempt to displace the anomaly by means of a large concrete block and a series of hydraulic rams.

Result: Failure of most hydraulic rams. Severe damage to concrete.

Containment Method: One meter thick concrete structure surrounding the anomaly, reinforced with steel re-bar. High pressure valves used to stop the flow of water.

Result: Multiple catastrophic failures of concrete containment structure.

Containment Method: 70 millimeter thick steel pipe, 20 meters in diameter, 50 meters in length. Sealed with a specially designed quick locking hatch and welded in place.

Result: Catastrophic failure at both ends of the containment structure. Two members of the welding team were injured and one was killed.

Containment Method: Sphere of ███████ alloy reinforced with a titanium and ████ composite lattice structure. Materials were Coulomb-shifted to achieve an instantaneous and perfect seal. All personnel evacuated from the area.

Result: Pressures within the sphere estimated to have exceeded 900 Gigapascals before containment failure. Detonation of the sphere due to water pressure showered Lake Ouachita with large chunks of ███████ alloy and super heated ice.

The Operation Blakely infrastructure effectively redistributes the output from SCP-4283 into the local municipal water system where it is either used by the municipality in question or redirected to other surrounding systems. In the case that the system cannot handle the output, a secondary installation of pipes diverts the water to Lake Maumelle and the Arkansas River.

To make further use of the anomaly, the Blakely Mountain Dam covertly houses a series of hydroelectric generators that provide electricity in surplus to Site-441 and the surrounding area. Publicly, the generators in the dam’s power plant are capable of producing 75,000 kilowatt-hours of power. The true output is much higher on average, but fluctuates depending on Operation Blakely's allocation of water. Site-441's ability to process its own drinking water and generate its own electricity aids in preserving the clandestine nature of the facility.

Addendum 4283-12.06.1958: A letter from Site-441 Director Frederick Campbell.

December 06, 1958

Site-441 staff,

It has come to my attention that many low level members of Operation Blakely have questions regarding the "Keter" classification of SCP-4283 and our ongoing investigation into containing the anomaly despite its apparently benign, even beneficial nature.

It is our current understanding that the water pouring from SCP-4283 is not being sourced from elsewhere on the planet, meaning that the anomaly is effectively increasing the amount of water (and mass in general) that exists on Earth.

If SCP-4283 is not neutralized within the next few centuries, its impact on the planet will be impossible to conceal from the general public. Since Operation Blakely has been in effect, we have already seen the impact of SCP-4283 on Lake Ouachita, Lake Maumelle, and the Arkansas River.

This destabilization will only continue to become more and more detrimental. The anomaly may not seem like a problem now, but the goal of The Foundation is to contain any and all anomalies that threaten human existence as we know it, no matter how far off the consequences are.

At its current increasing rate of flow, SCP-4283 will cover every landmass on Earth with water in 15 million years, and the extra mass will alter the planet's orbit substantially. Long before that, it will cause catastrophic displacement of coastal cities. In the near future, SCP-4283 will be impossible to hide, and at its current rate of growth, may breach the containment measures put in place by Operation Blakely.

Hence, a Keter designation.

If any members of staff have questions regarding the ongoing research into containment of SCP-4283, please, hesitate to ask.

Sincerely,

Dr. Campbell, Site-441 Director

History: SCP-4283 was discovered in 1946 after reports of a "waterfall in mid-air" circulated through the local population and Ouachita National Forest employees. SCP-4283 was quickly quarantined by the foundation and containment testing began.

After a year of testing with no containment options available, theories that the anomaly would destabilize the local ecosystem and make concealment impossible came to light. The Foundation collaborated with the United States Army Corps of Engineers to design Operation Blakely, employing a covert pump station capable of diverting the massive amount of excess water away from the Ouachita National Forest. This became Site-441 and the Blakely Mountain Dam, both completed in 1953. Upon completion of Site-441, Lake Ouachita was formed from the affected portion of the Ouachita River. In order to maintain normalcy, the lake was not claimed by The Foundation, but instead remained part of the Ouachita National Forest.

Non-foundation individuals that were aware of SCP-4283 were debriefed and amnesticized accordingly. An excerpt of a notable interview with a local is shown below.

+ Debrief Interview 013 [Excerpt]

- Debrief Interview 013 [Excerpt]

Interviewed: Marcus Olds, Native American descent, 68 years of age.

Interviewer: Dr. Frederick Campbell, Site-441 Director

<Excerpt of Log, 1647 hours ██-██-1946>

Campbell: … and was there anything else unusual about the day before the anomaly appeared?

Olds: Like I said, just the earthquake.

Campbell: Yes, we've heard several reports of an earthquake, but I can't help but feel, Mr. Olds, that you're holding out on me. Are you sure there's nothing else you can tell us?

Olds: …

Olds: You would dismiss me as a lunatic, doctor.

Campbell: I think you'll find that I'm very open minded. Any information could help us.

Mr. Olds is hesitant to speak. Dr. Campbell begins to terminate the interview.

Campbell: Officer, could you please escort Mr. Olds out. We're finished with-

Olds: The hunter.

Campbell: I beg your pardon?

Olds: My grandmother would tell us stories in our youth. Most often, she spoke of a hunter, killing for sport in these woods.

Dr. Campbell waves off the guard and resumes the interview.

Campbell: And what does this hunter seek?

Olds: The deer. A spirit animal native to Ouachita. My grandmother drew pictures of many spirit animals… they were taller than the mountains, wider than the rivers. The spirit world is invisible to most, but to very few, like my grandmother, it shows itself. Unfortunately, it meant she was blind in this world, but that never stopped her from drawing what she could see.

Campbell: And the hunter? Could she see him as well?

Olds: Ah… the hunter. The pictures she drew still show themselves to me in my nightmares. The hunter is just as immense and powerful as the animal he hunts.

Campbell: Why does the hunter seek the deer? What's special about it?

Olds: It is the last.

Campbell: I see… and how does this story intersect with the anomaly on Lake Ouachita?

Olds: When a spirit animal dies… the ground shakes and the Earth bleeds. The blood of the Earth, doctor, is water.

Campbell: And what happens when the last spirit animal dies? What happens, hypothetically, when the hunter kills the deer?

Olds: The Earth doesn't stop bleeding.

Campbell: I assume your grandmother didn't have any other… more lighthearted stories to tell. Did she, by any chance, tell you a story about how to… stop the "bleeding?"

Olds: Of course. Kill the hunter.

Campbell: Something tells me that he would be quite hard to kill… either way, Mr. Olds, thank you. You have been quite helpful.

Olds: You don't think me insane, doctor?

Campbell: I wish that were the case… but that would make my job… just far too easy, now wouldn't it? Good day, Mr. Olds. The officer here will escort you out.

<End Log>