An elected official, speaking at a state conference years ago, said fresh water would be as precious as oil some day. Cities and farmers need it to survive and grow. Without it in abundant quantities, communities wither and die.
The governor's water conference in Oklahoma City this week addressed the long-term vision for managing the state's water resources. Participants know a "good spring rain" is not part of the solution.
The state's growing demand and shrinking supplies are part of the $13 million planning process. The four-and-a-half-year effort will produce a report that aims to carry the state 50 years into the future.
Conference participants, according to the Associated Press, were trying to get their arms around such issues as public versus private ownership of water supplies, tribal sovereignty and the right of communities to sell water to other communities inside and outside of Oklahoma.
The drought that has plagued Oklahoma for months has dropped lakes to some of their lowest levels ever. Lake Thunderbird, a water supply for Norman and other central Oklahoma communities, is more than eight feet below normal.
Come spring, meetings will be held throughout the state for citizens and communities to air their concerns. They will be followed by regional meetings and then a draft plan of action.
Lawmakers put the brakes on a tribal water sale a few years ago with a moratorium. The sale of water in southeastern Oklahoma to fast-growing Texas communities was a gentle reminder that water is a shrinking resource. The drought and resulting low lake levels is the wake up call.
