In 1962, Oklahoma U.S. Senator Robert S. Kerr proclaimed water to be “our state’s most precious resource.”
Not oil, not gas, not farmland. Water.
And his generation built some of the finest water infrastructure in the country.
But now that impressive infrastructure is crumbling.
When Kerr made his comments, Oklahoma had recently come out of the worst drought on record. Now, Oklahoma faces a drought of similar proportions, but with demand far greater than what Kerr could have foreseen.
How to balance the needs of a growing population with the importance of tourism to local economies where water is plentiful will be one of the biggest issues facing the state over the next half-century.
Highlight some of the points of conflict.
The lakes and streams of southeast Oklahoma are vital to the area’s economy, and Broken Bow resident Charlette Hearne has made it her mission to stand in the way of attempts to move water out of her part of the state.
The bill’s signing brings a formal conclusion to the years long dispute between the state and the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations over control of water in Sardis Lake and across southeast Oklahoma.
Oil prices are on the rebound, which should eventually generate revenue and help Oklahoma’s state budget situation. Still, another budget hole — that could be as large as $600 million — will likely have to be filled during the 2017 legislative session.
J.D. Strong has been an important player in Oklahoma water issues for many years, and served as Executive Director of the state water regulator since 2010. Earlier this year he left the Water Resources Board to head the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.
A decade after the state-run Texoma Lodge and Resort was sold to a private company that never fulfilled its promise to develop a multi-million dollar resort there, Gov. Mary Fallin and the Chickasaw Nation on Thursday announced plans for the tribe to build a resort hotel and casino instead.
Opposition to the state question comes from multiple sources, but a diverse coalition urging a ‘no’ vote is united by a shared concern: water.
The section of the Arkansas River that runs through Tulsa is changing. For much of the city’s history, business owners constructed buildings facing away from what has been considered a polluted eyesore. But now Tulsa is embracing its most prominent physical feature.
Oklahoma officials and the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations spent 5 years hammering out a deal to share control of water across southeast Oklahoma, but coming to an agreement isn’t the end of the process.
Oklahoma voters decide on State Question 777 in November. Supporters call the ballot initiative right-to-farm, but opponents prefer right-to-harm. It’s a divisive, national issue that’s made its way to Oklahoma, pitting agriculture against environmentalists and animal rights activists.
After five years of confidential negotiations, the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations have reached an agreement with the State of Oklahoma over water in southeast Oklahoma. The deal has been praised by state leaders as a historic accord that ends the tribes’ lawsuit that blocked Oklahoma City’s plan to pump water out of the region. But the deal still has to be sold to tribe members in that part of the state.
