It is named for the now-defunct town of Sardis, Oklahoma, which had to be abandoned before the area was submerged in the flooding of the lake.

In brief it provided for the state to have administration and regulatory authority over Sardis Lake, as well as preserving water rights for the Nations in their treaty territories, and allocating a major portion of water from Sardis Lake for the needs of Oklahoma City, dependent on it conducting conservation measures.

[3] The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, led by Donald Mahaffey, constructed the dam and lake between 1977 and 1982 under a contract with the state of Oklahoma.

The project was constructed for the purpose of selling water to municipalities and industrial customers in Oklahoma.

[4] As a result of the state's failure to pay off its debt, the Corps of Engineers legally owns Sardis Lake.

[2] Shortly after Sardis Lake was filled, Oklahoma City developed various plans seeking to gain control of much of the water.

[5] A news article in June 2010, reported that the State of Oklahoma had paid $27 million to the Corps of Engineers to settle its outstanding debt.

[6] Oklahoma City was seeking to purchase the lion's share of water from Sardis Lake.

The Choctaw, for example, claimed that their 1830 Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek with the United States government gave them authority over water resources in their territory.

If Oklahoma wins this case... tribal water rights could be severely impaired and the future social and economic wealth of all the tribes in the state could be jeopardized, beginning with the Choctaw and Chickasaw.