Lake Oahe Falls Twenty Feet in One Year - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

It's hard to believe for some.

A year after record floodwaters rushed through, Lake Oahe is drying up.

The lake has fallen twenty feet and by November its expected to be even worse.

Its added up to a lot of frustration for a group called Voices for Lake Oahe, who feel there is silence when it comes to issues with the river south of Bismarck.

Look closely, and you can see it.

Through the colorful trees--what's left of Lake Oahe. It's down twenty feet from last year and is expected to fall another four feet by November.

To the right of Highway 1804 you can see how far the water has retreated.

The frustrating part is the actual amount of fluctuation I mean we have a reservoir here we expect that to fluctuate we can deal with that but when you go from last year all-time high to this and be twenty feet low in one year I mean it seems like I don't know if there is a lot of thought being put into the releases that are happening," says Randy Bosch of Voices for Lake Oahe.

Boaters have to pick their way around trees to escape Beaver Bay.

But to even reach the water is difficult. The main ramp is high and dry. A low water ramp included a hill and fifty yards of sand and dirt just to get to the water.

I don't think a lot of people know about it. The elevation I believe on Sakakawea are decent and then the river going through Bismarck always looks like there is water but when you get down here a lot of people don't even know that the water has been let out,' says Bosch.

Bosch and another member of Voices for Lake Oahe think the Corps of Engineers "overreacted" to last years flood, and released too much water this year.

Bosch says if this is the way the Corps is going to manage the river system they need some help with access. "The facilities that they are asking us to use are minimal," says Bosch.

Bosch says the corps is aware of the situation, and he has called the governors office to voice his concerns, and that some work is being done to address access, but not enough.

Lake Oahe is twenty feet lower than one year ago. To add some perspective, it's still 29 feet higher than it was at its all-time low in 2006.