The City Council on Monday voted 5-0 to approve recommendations from the Water Resources Committee concerning Bartlesville water supply.
The WRC was assigned to explore the City’s options following a year-long drought in 2022-23 and to make recommendations to the City Council for final approval.
After an extensive months-long review, on Jan. 28, the WRC voted unanimously to recommend the City take the following actions:
- Pursue flood control reallocation at Hulah Lake through the next Water Resource Development Act, which will be available in 2026.
- Secure the reserved storage rights at Copan Lake made available through recent legislation, with staff continuing to work with the Town of Copan to finalize an agreement for this purchase.
- Develop a contingency plan to access potable water from Tulsa, Collinsville and/or Skiatook in the event of an emergency.
All three recommendations were approved in a unanimous vote of the City Council on Monday. View the meeting HERE.
Kaw Lake
The committee had explored but ultimately ruled out looking further at the Ada-Vamoosa Aquifer due to the high cost for relatively low yield. Additionally, while the committee agreed further actions would be needed to move forward with an option to access Kaw Lake, they advised the option could become more feasible if certain conditions were met.
“The committee agreed the best option regarding Kaw Lake would be for the City to continue exploring federal grant opportunities and maintaining communication with the Osage Nation to seek potential partnerships that could help offset costs,” said Water Utilities Director Terry Lauritsen. “If no substantial partnership, grant, or alternative funding opportunity materializes, the WRC advises against moving forward with Kaw Lake at this time due to the cost.”
Kaw Lake currently has 38 million gallons of water per day available to purchase. The cost for Bartlesville to install the required infrastructure to access the lake is estimated to be approximately $252,534,089.
“Pursuing this option would increase the average residential water bill by approximately $160 per month,” Lauritsen said.
In comparison, the estimated cost for the average residential user for the selected options (listed above) is $8 per month — thanks to congressional action that will allow the City to purchase additional water rights at Copan Lake for an affordable price.
The cost to purchase additional water rights at Copan Lake through a partnership with the Town of Copan had been cost prohibitive in the past — a whopping $12 million for 2 million gallons per day. But with the passage of the 2024 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), that cost is now somewhere around $550,000, Lauritsen said.
The legislation passed through Congress in November/December and was signed by President Joe Biden before he left office in January.
Mayor Jim Curd, commended the committee and all who have worked on Bartlesville’s water issues for the past two decades.
“The Water Resources Committee did an outstanding job in reviewing the many options before us and identifying the path that will best move our community forward in terms of future water supply,” said Mayor Jim Curd. “This committee, along with many others before them, dedicated their time, expertise and resources to this very important issue.
“This has been a long and challenging journey. It has taken our ever-present congressional delegates crafting specific legislation with the federal government, along with the eventual cooperation of the Corp of Engineers to bring us a plan that meets all the future needs of our area and provides the most reasonable cost impact to our residents and water customers.
“I am grateful to everyone involved, to Mr. Terry Lauritsen and our City staff, who provided their knowledge, experience and guidance in helping the committee and the council navigate these issues and in making the right choices for our future.”
For more information, see February 3, 2025 staff report and www.cityofbartlesville.org.