Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer study confirms worst fears

Large-scale pumping of groundwater would have depleted area springs and streams

The attempt by a group of communities based in Canadian County to pump more than 80,000 acre feet of water from the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer and transport it to central Oklahoma in 2002 would have depleted area springs and streams if allowed to proceed, a study recently completed by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board reveals.

Passage of Senate Bill 288 in 2003 established a moratorium prohibiting any municipality or other political subdivision outside the Arbuckle-Simpson basin from entering into a contract which would lead to municipal or public water supply use of groundwater from the basin. The moratorium has remained in effect since that time until the present comprehensive study of the aquifer conducted by the OWRB could be completed.

Results of the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer hydrological study were summarized during an informal public meeting August 18 at the Pontotoc Technology Center in Ada. Click here to read complete article.

Quarrying grows in area of aquifer. More quarry firms are focusing their sights on land atop the Arbuckle Simpson aquifer. And they want to use purest groundwater to wash rocks.

The State of Oklahoma is in the process of developing a 50-year state water plan. The Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) has the primary state responsibility for updating the water plan. The Water Research Institute (WRI), located at Oklahoma State University but serving all of Oklahoma, is assisting the OWRB with the planning process. Local Input Meetings are being held in the fall of 2007. A schedule of the meetings is on the WRI site more

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