Summer 2007

A Publication of the Oklahoma Water Resources Research Institute

Volume III | Issue I

Local Input Meetings:April - July

What’s Inside

From the Director-

Oklahoma Comprehensive

Water Plan: Public Participation

Process

At the time of this writing, I am happy to report that we are almost halfway through the Local Input Meetings (LIMs): 20 down and 22 to go. We have covered the western part of the State and now are mov-ing northeast. We began these meetings on April 12 and plan to finish in early November in Idabel.

The meetings have gone quite well. We have received 1050 com-ments from the 1115 people who have attended these meetings. We are thus averaging more than 52 attendees at each meeting. I want to thank those who attended for their willingness to dedicate time out of their cherished evenings to learn more about water resource manage-ment in Oklahoma and to offer their perspectives and concerns on the water plan.

We want to thank the staff of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board for their assistance in planning these meetings and for their presenta-tions in it. These well-designed and informative presentations pro-vided valuable information to meeting participants and set the stage for the discussions that followed. We also want to thank our partners – the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service and the Oklahoma Association of Regional Councils of Government – for helping us arrange and conduct these meetings. Finally, we want to thank those organizations that helped spread the word about the meetings and encouraged attendance at them. In particular, we thank the Oklahoma Municipal League, Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts, State Chamber of Commerce, Oklahoma Farm Bureau, Oklahoma Rural Water Association, and all the many other organizations for their help. A number of newspapers have carried notices and stories of the LIMs. Not to be outdone, OETA television even came to our Kingfisher meeting and interviewed some of the participants.

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Beaver

Alva

Goodwell

Sayre

Local Input Meetings Underway. . .

Duncan

On April 12th, we began our journey of gathering input from the citizens of Oklahoma. We kicked off these meetings in the panhandle at the Beaver County Fairgrounds Pavilion. One hundred and three interested citizens came from all over the state to discuss Oklahoma’s water issues. (This meeting held the record for the highest attendance until our meeting in Sulphur where we had 106 in attendance.) We have been very pleased with the participation from the citizens of Oklahoma with the 20 meetings we have held so far. We have received several comments, spanning a variety of topics and issues. On the next page is a sample of some of those comments. Below is the schedule for the remainder of the Local Input Meetings. You can also visit our website http://okwaterplan.info for a map of the meetings we have held and will be holding across the State. We hope to see you at a meeting in your area!

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Weatherford

Lawton

Hobart

El Reno

Duncan

Chickasha

Enid

Kingfisher

Oklahoma City

Sulphur

Norman

Stillwater

Ardmore

“The resources we do have need to be redistributed to achieve the most good. We should not ask what it will cost, but rather what it will accomplish.”

“The plan should consider looking at best management practices for water resources and conservation practices. The plan should recommend they be put in place.”

“I am concerned about water

quality,

water quantity, and the interac

tion between

surface and groundwater. In p

articular,

conservation practices along s

treams such

as riparian areas in Deer Creek

and the

destruction of riparian areas b

y flooding.”

“We need to look at the amount of water in our aquifers, to ensure there is water available to permit for withdrawal. If there is an area without an aquifer there should be restrictions on groundwater pumping. We can’t permit what we no longer have.”

“The plan needs to address the needs and rights of the groundwater owner in relation to the conjunctive use of groundwater in meeting stream water needs.”

“I am concerned about

the lack of funding for

infrastructure improvements.

What funding sources are

available for infrastructure

improvement?” “We need to reevaluate the “use it or lose it” water right regulation.”“I suggest that when the lakes are down that sediment be removed so the lakes can hold more water.”

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Public Participation ProcessOklahoma law requires that the

Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) develop a Comprehensive Water Plan and revise it about every ten years. The original plan was pub-lished in 1980 and updated in 1995. OWRB is now working on the second update, which is due in 2011.

The Oklahoma Water Resources Research Institute, established in 1965 at Oklahoma State University but serv-ing the entire state, is leading an effort to gather input from citizens across the state to help guide this update of the water plan.

The Institute’s primary mission is to sponsor water research that meets the needs of Oklahoma and to train future water resource management professionals. Dr. Will Focht, the In-stitute Director, specializes in engaging citizens in environ-mental decision-making. As a result, the OWRB has asked the Institute to lead the public participation effort.

Process GoalsThe goals of the public par-

ticipation process are to pro-duce a water resource man-agement plan that is (1) based on the best available science and (2) enjoys broad public support.

To assure that the plan is well in-formed, the Institute is assembling a team of technical and policy experts from across Oklahoma to provide ad-vice as needed. In order for the pub-lic to feel comfortable supporting the plan, the process has been designed to be as inclusive, fair, and transparent as possible.

The plan will serve as a guide for decision-making by OWRB and other state agencies as they work to assure a safe and reliable supply of water to meet the needs of all Oklahomans for the next 50 years.

The Water Research Institute is not responsible for writing the Water Plan. However, the Institute is com-mitted to making sure all interests are

fairly represented and will encourage discussions that result in recommen-dations representing the interests of all Oklahomans.

Process DescriptionThe public engagement process

will be conducted in five steps over the next four years.

Local Input MeetingsDuring 2007, the Institute spon-

sored 42 local input meetings across the state, which gave Oklahomans the opportunity to (1) identify the issues that should be considered, (2) voice concerns about these issues, (3) specify the questions that should be answered in considering these issues, and (4) of-fer suggestions about how the issues

should be addressed in the plan. Over 2,200 people attended the

meetings, which began on April 12, in Beaver and ended on Nov. 15, in Ida-bel. The Institute received over 2,500 comments both from those attending and through their website. Reports were compiled after each local meet-ing and are available on the Institute’s website. All of the comments are also available on the website in a search-able database.

Regional Input MeetingsIn 2008, the Institute will hold 11

regional input meetings, one in each of the 11 sub-state planning regions of Oklahoma, to group the issues raised in local input meetings into similar

categories and to rate the categories as to their relative importance.

The Institute will invite about 30 citizens from each region to partici-pate. Nominations for the regional meetings were received from the pub-lic, beginning at the first meeting and ending on Feb. 29, 2008. The Institute, working with several state, federal and non-profit organizations, will narrow the list of nominees; the final selection will be made by a Water Plan Adviso-ry Board, comprised of six governor-appointed officials.

Approximately 330 participants will be selected based on their knowledge of regional water issues, willingness to listen and reflect on others’ interests, and a commitment to developing rec-ommendations that meet the needs of

all Oklahomans. An effort will be made to ensure that all water interests are rep-resented.

The meetings will be open to area residents and public comments will be encouraged towards the end of the meeting. The results of the local and re-gional input meetings will form the agenda for all meetings to follow.

Planning WorkshopsThe Institute will sponsor a series

of workshops, in 2009, to formulate alternative water resource manage-ment strategies. These workshops will be organized around the issues and is-sue categories that were identified in the input meetings.

We anticipate that 12 such issue-specific workshops will be held in Oklahoma City. Each of the 12 work-shops will be repeated twice (three in all) so that experts can respond to questions raised by the participants.

Approximately 20 Oklahomans will be invited to participate in each of the workshops (about 240 in all). Se-lections will be based on the same cri-teria as for the regional input sessions except that we will especially seek

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individuals who are knowledgeable of water issues across the state.

Town Hall MeetingDuring 2010, the Institute will work

with the Oklahoma Academy for State Goals to host a 3-day town hall meet-ing, in Norman.

Approximately 150 Oklahomans will be invited to consider the alterna-tive water resource management strate-gies that were formulated in the plan-ning workshops and reach agreement on a series of recommendations for inclusion in the comprehensive water plan.

Town hall meetings have been held by the Oklahoma Academy for a number of years and have been very successful in generating policy recommendations that have been subsequently embraced by the Oklahoma Legislature, Gover-nor, and Agency Directors.

The Institute will issue invitations to nominees who are knowledgeable about Oklahoma water issues and are committed to generating recommenda-tions that can gain broad public sup-port.

The recommendations will be deliv-ered to the OWRB for its use in prepar-ing a draft of the water plan.

Feedback andImplementation Meetings

During 2011, the Institute will return to the 11 sub-state planning regions to allow the public to review and discuss the draft water plan. Those who attend these meetings will be encouraged to offer suggestions about how the plan should be carried out.

All comments and implementation suggestions will be communicated to the OWRB for its use in developing the final water plan that will be deliv-ered to the Governor and Legislature in 2011.

All reports generated during the process are posted on the website for all to view. While the comment period has ended for the purpose of the local meeting reports we continue to encour-age comments and suggestions on the Institute’s website http://okwaterplan.info.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments throughout the process.

It is interesting, and perhaps somewhat ironic, that the three-year drought that preceded the LIMs ended right at the time that the meet-ings began. It has rained, usually quite heavily, on the day of, day before, or day after 18 of our first 20 meetings. It seems as if we bring the rain with us wherever we go. Perhaps we should continue our planning meetings forever to ensure that we will never again face a drought!

To view the comments submitted so far, please go to http://okwaterplan.info. There you can search for comments using keywords and view reports of each LIM’s proceedings. You will also find a schedule for upcoming meetings, which we hope you will plan to attend. The website also includes other background information that you will find useful.

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For the first time, we are joining our annual Water Research Symposium with the Oklahoma Water Resources Board’s

annual Governor’s Water Conference.

Some of the topics to be covered will be:The Arbuckle-Simpson Hydrology Study•The Grand Lake Watershed•Water Sustainability•Science and Policy•

Reserve October 23-25 Now!!!

Mark Your Calendars!

The AQUAhomanOklahoma Water Resources Research InstituteOklahoma State University003 Life Sciences EastStillwater, OK 74078-3011

The AQUAhoman is published quarterly by the Oklahoma Water Resources Research Institute at Oklahoma State University. It is available at: http://environ.okstate.edu/owrri/aquahoman

OWRRIDr. Will Focht, Director | Mike Langston, Assistant Director | Jeri Fleming, Communications Manager

Alison Stone, Outreach Specialist and AQUAhoman Editor | Jenny Jafek-Jones, Administrative Support Specialist003 Life Sciences East | Stillwater, OK 74078-3011 | 405.744.9994 | 405.744.7074 (fax)

owrri@okstate.eduenviron.okstate.edu/owrri

*Cover Photo, Mountain Fork River

Other photos are of the Local Input Meetings held across the State

taken by Alison Stone