Water officials: Drought likely to be ‘Top 2 or 3 in history’
With overall water supply at 76.3 percent this week — the highest it’s been since the City entered into the first of a four-stage Water Shortage Ordinance last December — Bartlesville water customers are free of all water restrictions.
As of Monday, most outdoor water activities had resumed, including the opening of City-owned splash pads and Frontier Pool, City Manager Mike Bailey said Monday.
“We opened the splash pads last Thursday and Friday and, thanks to the collaborative efforts of the YMCA and our Public Works Department, we were able to open Frontier Pool on Monday,” he said. “This is something we did not initially think we would be able to do. But it’s something the community needs, and we are ecstatic that we were able to do this for our kids before the season ends.”
Richard Kane YMCA CEO Robert Phillips reported hundreds of people flocked to the pool on opening day.
“We had 567 total, and I expect it will stay around that daily,” Phillips said. “That’s a great impact in the community.”
For more information about pool hours, etc., see Pool Opens.
The drought
The City implemented the Water Shortage Ordinance in December 2022 due to rapidly declining water levels at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-owned Hulah and Copan lakes, which both serve as water supply for Bartlesville and the surrounding area.
The watersheds for both lakes are located in close proximity to each other in Southeast Kansas, where extreme drought has left the area upwards of 20 inches below normal rainfall.
Bartlesville water supply dropped steadily from December through early summer, when levels stabilized somewhat, thanks to light rains in the area that kept average water consumption lower than is typical for that time of year.
Despite the rains, however, the City quickly surpassed the first two stages of the Water Shortage Ordinance, also referred to as the City’s drought plan, and entered Stage 3 of the ordinance in April.
Water supply fell to its lowest point in early May, at 56.1 percent in overall supply. It was estimated supply would drop below 50 percent by July or August and put the area in Stage 4 of the ordinance, which is considered “critical.”
While supply never dropped below 50 percent, restrictions outlined in Stages 2 and 3 of the Water Shortage Ordinance put restrictions in place on outdoor water use and imposed emergency water rates for consumption exceeding minimum levels.
But those restrictions were lifted last week after heavy rains in the Hulah Lake watershed filled the lake over a span of about 12 hours during the weekend of July 15-16.
The rain
This week, Water Utilities Director Terry Lauritsen said water was still coming into the lake.
“It hasn’t stopped since it started a week ago last Friday,” he said. “The lake is actually in its flood conservation pool. We show it on the City website as being over 100 percent full, but that’s in relation to the water storage within it. So it actually has water almost a foot in the flood storage portion of it, which is very good news.”
Lauritsen said the City-owned Hudson Lake is just under 80 percent full, where the City “normally keeps it this time of year.” Copan Lake, however, isn’t fairing as well.
“Copan Lake is really suffering in that it’s at 52 percent full,” he said. “Even though Hulah and Copan watersheds sit side by side in Southeast Kansas, the rains hit in a way that really benefitted Hulah but not Copan, as it is still well below normal.”
Lauritsen said Copan Lake is actually “in a critical stage,” but because the City’s water needs are primarily met through Hulah Lake, its status is not a level of concern at this time.
“From an overall perspective, it doesn’t hinder us too much from a water supply standpoint,” he said.
Lauritsen said while the July rains that filled the lake are welcomed, they are unusual.
“Getting the rains we have gotten in July is very rare, as was the drought that brought us to this point,” he said. “When the dust settles and they’re able to put all the models in place and look at the severity of this drought, I think for our watershed it’s going to be either a Top 2 or Top 3 drought in history. That is the magnitude of the drought that we’ve gone through and that those areas are still under. That area overall is still about 19 inches below normal rainfall.”
What’s Next
The City will continue its public awareness campaign for conservation as outlined in Stage 1 of the Water Shortage Ordinance. As long as supply stays above 69 percent, no restrictions on outdoor water use or emergency water rates will be imposed. (To see restrictions and what constitutes each stage, see the Water Shortage Ordinance.)
Whether the area stays in Stage 1 or fluctuates either way all depends on how much it rains, Lauristen said.
“Worst case scenario, based on no rain and no drop in consumption, our best estimates indicate we could be back in Stage 2 by the end of summer or early fall,” he said. “The good news is that is another wet season for us, historically. We typically receive at least some rain during July and August, even in years that are unusually dry. So this projection, while possible, certainly isn’t inevitable.”
Lauritsen said Hulah will likely receive a bit more inflow before supply drops from 76.3 percent to around 76 percent within the next week.
“We would like to see our supply at 100 percent, which is typically where we are this time of year,” he said. “So we’re still a little below normal, but we are clearly in a much better position than we were just two weeks ago.”
The committee
During a special meeting Monday, the City Council took two actions relating to water supply: The council approved a resolution rescinding emergency water rates retroactively to July 17 and made appointments to the Water Resources Committee.
The emergency rate removal required the passage of a resolution by the council, which they did unanimously and retroactively to July 17, when overall water supply reached in excess of 69 percent and thereby Stage 1 of the Water Shortage Ordinance. There are no restrictions for the public under Stage 1 of the ordinance.
The Water Resources Committee, which was established in the early 2000s following the drought of 2001-02, will be tasked with exploring potential water supply options and reviewing the effectiveness of the Water Shortage Ordinance and the actions taken over the past seven months to preserve water supply. The committee is expected to make recommendations to the council regarding possible modifications to the ordinance.
“While I think we could all agree it was not a perfect process, overall the Water Shortage Ordinance accomplished what it was created to do — and that is to preserve water supply until it rained or until additional water sources are secured,” said Bailey.
“I think it’s important to keep in mind this was the first time this ordinance has ever been implemented and, in that vein, we have monitored its effectiveness throughout and look forward to this committee reviewing the process with the benefit of hindsight. It is expected that some modifications to the ordinance will be recommended to the City Council to help guide us through future drought events.”
Authorized by the council on Monday, the members of the Water Resources Committee are:
Dale Copeland, mayor
Billie Roane, City Council member
Mike Bailey, city manager
George Halkiades, Ward 1 representative
Bill Dausses, Ward 2 representative
Tom Gorman, Ward 3 representative
Quinn Schipper, Ward 4 representative
Harvey Little, Ward 5 representative
Kevin Trease, Dewey resident
Mike Dunlap, Washington County Commission representative
David Wood, Bartlesville Development Authority
Sherri Wilt, Bartlesville Regional Chamber of Commerce
Mack Savala, Senator Lankford’s office (ex officio)
Crystal Campbell, Senator Mullin’s office (ex officio)
Derrick Sisney, Representative Brecheen’s office (ex officio)
Julie Daniels, legislative liaison (ex officio)
Terry Lauritsen, Water Utilities director (ex officio)