State water plan meetings get underway

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

The future of Oklahoma water was the subject of the first Local Input Meeting conducted by the Water Research Institute. The meeting in Beaver, Oklahoma, was the first of 42 meetings scheduled across the state.

“We are very excited with the results of our first meeting,” said Dr. Will Focht, WRI director. “We had a great turnout and several thoughtful comments.”

Some of the comments and suggestions included recognizing water’s role in economic impact and development opportunities, changing the state’s management focus from utilization to conservation and identifying existing and future water resource needs before potential out-of-state sale of water.

The WRI has contracted with the Oklahoma Water Resources Board to gather citizens’ concerns, suggestions and questions regarding the future of Oklahoma’s water resources. The comments from the local meetings will help set the agenda for the current update of the Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plan.

“The Water Plan will be designed to address the state’s water needs both now and at least 50 years into the future,” said Duane Smith, OWRB executive director. “We look forward to hearing the many viewpoints and recommendations from the local meetings. Along with planned water research and studies, public input will provide the basis for what is eventually included in the state’s updated Water Plan.”

The current update will include technical studies of water supply and related infrastructure needs and updated projections of future water demands. The OWRB will cooperate with other state and federal agencies, universities and organizations to obtain an accurate depiction of Oklahoma’s future water supply.