Water is Tulsa’s Most Valued Resource
Oolagah Lake is an important source of water for Tulsa.
by Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett
Tulsa is experiencing its second summer of severe drought and extreme heat and when it comes to high water usage, we need to join together and do what we can to conserve water.
Our city is blessed with an abundant water supply. We can draw water from the City’s reservoirs at Spavinaw, Eucha, and Oologah Lake. With those sources, we have virtually a year’s worth of water storage, at normal use levels. And, if needed, we can also draw water from the Neosho River in Lake Hudson.
The limiting factor in how much water is provided to customers each day is the working capacity of our two water treatment plants, Mohawk and A.B. Jewell, which together can treat up to 210 million gallons per day ().
Tulsa’s water customers and neighboring communities which buy treated water from Tulsa have used nearly as much water as the treatment plants can produce on several recent days. That prompted the City to ask Tulsans on July 31 to voluntarily conserve water until the oppressive summer heat eases and we receive some significant rainfall.
Our City Ordinances spell out the processes for both voluntary and mandatory water restrictions. When we use more than 197 million gallons for two consecutive days, by executive order, voluntary restrictions will be in place: this doesn’t mean you will be asked to curtail household water use for bathing, drinking, cooking or other purposes. You will only be asked to conserve on outside watering and only water every other day, between midnight and noon.
If we use more than 204 for two consecutive days, those voluntary restrictions will become mandatory. And, if we exceed 210 for two consecutive days, then all outside watering may be prohibited.
These restrictions will be in place so that sufficient water will always be available for drinking and bathing, as well as for fighting fires and keeping businesses running. For more information on valuable water-conservation tips, visit the City of Tulsa’s website at: www.cityoftulsa.org
Updated 08-06-2012
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