About 3 billion gallons of water will be released from Lake Canton later this month to refill Lake Hefner in northwest Oklahoma City, Water and Wastewater Utilities Director Marsha Slaughter said recently.

The lake's water level has been noticeably lower: Normally Hefner holds more than 24 billion gallons when full; it's about 8 billion gallons short. Dozens of docked boats at the Oklahoma City Boat Club and the city-operated marina rest on the muddy lake bottom.