ulsa and its surrounding area, which was bracing for possible flooding, welcomed good news Wednesday that the Army Corps of Engineers would begin reducing the amount of water intentionally released at the Keystone Dam ahead of schedule.
The Corps said Monday it had planned to release 275,000 cubic feet of water per second from the Keystone Dam -- which is the equivalent of three Olympic-sized pools -- through Thursday.
The release of water from the dam about 20 miles west of Tulsa is intended to keep the Keystone Lake from topping the dam's floodgates, which control the flow of water from the lake into the Arkansas River.
The Army Corps started progressively lowering the release rate on Wednesday and will continue to do so until Thursday morning. By then, 235,000 cubic feet of water per second will be released, Lt. Col. Adam Weece, a spokesman for Corps' southwestern division, told CNN.
The Corps hopes to quickly decrease the impact to communities and the levees and dam, Weece said.