page_title: Lake Altus-Lugert
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Lake Altus-Lugert / History
caption_attribution_description: English: A view over Lake Altus-Lugert under very dry conditions. Some foundations from the former town of Lugert are visible on the lakebed
context_page_description: Lake Altus-Lugert, also known as Lake Altus, Lake Lugert, Lake Lugert-Altus, and Lugert Lake, is a reservoir located on the North Fork Red River, about 17 miles north of Altus, Oklahoma on the former site of the town of Lugert, Oklahoma. The river is the boundary between Greer County and Kiowa County, Oklahoma. The lake is used for fishing, boating, swimming, and irrigation. This is also the principal water supply for Altus.
context_section_description: Lake Lugert was created over the former town of Lugert (founded in 1902) which was destroyed by a tornado on April 27, 1912. One can see the old foundations of the houses which used to stand in the area. Layers of brick and weeds dominate the area making it hard to walk through when the lake is dry. The town was hit by a tornado several times leaving the town to only rebuild. Later after the last tornado hit the town, the towns people decided to leave, abandoning the entire town. Lake Altus has been expanded to include the town of Lugert, also creating Lake Lugert.
  Lake Altus-Lugert is the primary storage facility for the W.C. Austin Project of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. This project provides irrigation water to some 48,000 acres (190 km²) of land located in southwestern Oklahoma.
  Lake Altus had its beginnings in 1927 when the city of Altus, Oklahoma built Altus Dam as a source of municipal water for the city. Interest in providing irrigation water to farmers in the region prompted the U.S. Government to authorize construction of a larger reservoir in the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1938. The dam was to be raised 50 feet (15 m) to impound more water. Construction started in 1941, and was interrupted by World War II. Construction resumed in 1944. The dam, as it stands today, was completed in 1947.
  There is also an extensive system of canals leaving Lake Altus in order to deliver the irrigation water to farmland. Most of these canals and distribution laterals were completed by 1953.
  An 8-year drought that had largely depleted the lake ended in the Spring of 2015, when storms delivered 17.1 inches (43 cm) of rain in 60 days. The heavy rains caused local flooding and property damage in the Quartz Mountain Nature Park. The Altus Dam flood gates had to be opened to relieve excess water, after the lake reached its normal capacity.
caption: Foundations from the town of Lugert at the bottom of Lake Altus-Lugert
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