For the first time since 1957, the floodgates on Bull Shoals Dam in Northern Arkansas have opened for the purpose of flood control. The lake level at opening, which occurred at 12:30 PM, April 12, was 693.76 feet above mean sea level (MSL.) All 17 flood gates were opened to 6 inches, releasing approximately an additional 6000 cubic feet per second, adding to the release of 21000 cubic feet per second from the 8 turbine outlets at Bull Shoals' powerhouse. Top flood pool for Bull Shoals is 695 feet MSL, which is 39 feet above normal pool, meaning that when the lake reaches this elevation, additional incoming waters must be released. Bull Shoals is expected to crest at 694.9 feet MSL Monday morning, setting a new record, surpassing the old record of 694.0, set in June of 1957. Bull Shoals Lake was engineered to hold excessive water from it's watershed and the upstream reservoirs of Table Rock Lake and Beaver Lake and their watersheds. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the dam in 2002, the flood gates were opened for a brief time, but not for the purpose of flood control. As of 9 AM Sunday morning, around 21 hours after the gates were opened, the lake had risen .65 feet to 694.4 feet MSL. As of now, it is uncertain if there will be any higher rates of release, due to major flooding on the White River in the Arkansas delta, and also water still being discharged from the 12 flood gates at Norfork Dam, on the North Fork River, a tributary of the White. Water from the White River joins the Mississippi River in Deesha County, Arkansas at 33°57′5″N 91°4′53″W.