Lake Size: 14,360 Acres
Shoreline Length (Miles): 117 Miles
Latitude: 34.658333
Longitude: -95.378889
Lake Level Above Sea Level: 599 feet
Counties: Latimer County
Cities: Yanush
Lake Management: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Information: Sardis Lake is a (reservoir) in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, USA. A smaller part of the lake is in Latimer County, Oklahoma. The dam impounding the lake is located approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Clayton. The lake covers 14,360 acres (58 km2) with 117 miles (188 km) of shoreline. The lake is an impoundment of Jackfork Creek, a tributary of the Kiamichi River. The lake's normal pool elevation is 599 feet above sea level. Its storage capacity is 274,330 acre-feet. At flood stage its elevation is 607 feet above sea level and its capacity rises to 396,900 acre-feet. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed the dam and lake between 1977 and 1982 under a contract with the state of Oklahoma for the purpose of selling water to municipalities and industrial customers in Oklahoma. Oklahoma agreed to make 50 annual payments and to pay the costs of operating the dam and lake. However, the state was unable to sell the water it needed to recover its costs, so the state discontinued payments to the federal government in 1997. The federal government sued the state for breach of contract and recovery of funds. The case wound its way through the courts and eventually Oklahoma lost the case when the Supreme Court declined to hear the case.