The City of Norman will host a public forum series on sustainable water resources beginning 6 p.m. Thursday inside the Norman City Council Chambers, 201 W. Gray St.
The meeting is free and open to the public, but the city is asking interested parties to call the Utilities Department at 366-5443 to reserve a place and receive an information packet to accompany the presentation.
The first of eight forums, Thursday's meeting will introduce the series and provide an overview of Norman's existing Strategic Water Supply Plan.
The next forum, slated for Jan. 21, will discuss the state of Oklahoma's water plan. Six additional forums will be held in the coming months, wrapping up April 15.
Why all the fuss?
In 2001, the Norman Utilities Authority completed a Strategic Water Supply Plan which estimated the annual average and peak day water demands for the City of Norman service area through the year 2040.
In the past several years, the city says it has made significant strides in reducing peak day demands, reusing wastewater effluent at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, shedding non-potable users, odd/even watering and conservation.
However, officials stress the long-term outlook will still require additional water supplies to accommodate Norman's natural growth.
In 2009, the City of Norman joined other regional municipalities in the development of the 2009 Regional Water Supply Plan for Central Oklahoma. As part of the study, the City of Norman updated the annual average day water demand projections for the current service area to determine the necessary raw water supply augmentation for the entire region.
The city says the study revealed that projected water demands for the region exceeded the sustainable yields of the potential source waters in Central Oklahoma.
Officials also believe there is a need to draw additional raw water from the Kiamichi River Basin, which would require the construction of a 105-mile pipeline and pump station, in parallel with the existing 60-inch City of Oklahoma City pipeline from Stanley Draper Reservoir to Lake Atoka.
The study also indicated an additional pipeline and pump stations will be necessary to obtain additional water rights from Sardis Lake, according to city documents.
For further information about the City of Norman's water series, call the Utilities Department at 366-5443 or visit the city's Web site, www.ci.norman.ok.us.
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