What ever happened with the Water Resources Committee?
The Water Resources Committee still exists but hasn’t met since completing their recommendations for next steps in January. The reason is simply that there isn’t a need to do so at this time, as City staff continues to work toward the committee’s recommendations, which were approved by the City Council in February.
Background
The committee was created following a major drought in 2001-02 to study possible ways to reduce the potential for severe consequences in the event of future drought conditions, and to increase water supply options for the City of Bartlesville. The City provides potable water to the region, including the cities of Dewey, Ramona and Ochelata, as well as five rural water districts in Washington, Nowata and Osage counties.
In the years following, the committee made several recommendations that resulted in the City taking several proactive measures to preserve our water supply during the region’s most recent drought, in 2022-23.
To put this in context, during the 2001–02 drought, which lasted about three months, the City’s water supply dropped to just 17 percent. But even with the far longer drought of 2022–23, which lasted approximately 18 months, the lowest point our water supply reached was 56 percent. This low point was reached in July 2023, well after the drought began in September 2022.
This was possible due to actions the City has taken since the drought in 2001-02, which include the development of a drought contingency plan, changing the water billing structure to incentivize conservation, and implementing modifications to our water source management.
Did the committee reach any conclusions?
The Water Resources Committee was reinstated during the 2022-23 drought to review more current conditions and make recommendations to the City Council. 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 (WRDA), 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.
Work on all three recommendations is ongoing. Unfortunately, none are a “quick-fix” solution. They all require time, lengthy negotiations and, in the case of the WRDA bill, literally an act of Congress.
Status update
Following is an update on the status of the WRC’s recommendations, provided on Monday by Water Utilities Director Terry Lauritsen.
Pursue flood control reallocation at Hulah Lake through the next Water Resource Development Act (WRDA), which will be available in 2026.
To pursue flood control reallocation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) must first conduct a feasibility study. Under the traditional USACE process, it could take a decade or more for the study to rise high enough on their priority list to secure the necessary funding. However, including the project in federal legislation — such as the Water Resources Development Act — will significantly shorten this timeline by elevating the project’s priority within USACE. The study itself requires approximately three years to complete, so the sooner it begins, the sooner we can evaluate and advance this option.
We are currently working with the staff of Sens. (James) Lankford and (Mark Wayne) Mullin to refine legislative language for potential inclusion. While there is no guarantee that the language will be included or that the legislation will pass, Oklahoma’s delegation has been highly supportive, and we remain optimistic.
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.
Staff has been working on this option since 2020 and successfully secured language in both the 2022 and 2024 Water Resources Development Acts to enable the purchase of approximately 2 million gallons per day of water storage rights at Copan Lake. These rights were reserved for the Town of Copan in 1981 but never purchased. The legislation allows the Town of Copan to release these reserved storage rights and the City of Bartlesville to acquire them at a significantly reduced cost — about $500,000 — compared to the roughly $11 million the Town of Copan would currently have to pay, a figure that increases each year.
We are currently working with the Town of Copan on an agreement for Bartlesville to pay Copan to release these reserved storage rights, potential repurchase of a portion of these rights by Copan at the same rate Bartlesville pays and the operational limits on water withdrawals to ensure the Town of Copan maintains sufficient water supply.
Develop a contingency plan to access potable water from Tulsa, Collinsville and/or Skiatook in the event of an emergency.
This option involves creating a plan to establish a temporary water system that draws from the reserve water capacity of surrounding communities. Staff is currently collecting information on each system’s reserve capacity, water quality, available access points, and any agreements that could secure a specific volume of water. Using this information — along with the water pressures at each access point — staff will evaluate the technical requirements for piping and pumping needed to transport the water to Bartlesville. A draft of this contingency plan is anticipated by the third quarter of 2026.