{"id":17098,"date":"2013-10-31T06:47:50","date_gmt":"2013-10-31T11:47:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=17098"},"modified":"2013-10-31T09:58:21","modified_gmt":"2013-10-31T14:58:21","slug":"why-oklahoma-city-wont-tap-water-from-the-aquifer-under-its-own-feet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2013\/10\/31\/why-oklahoma-city-wont-tap-water-from-the-aquifer-under-its-own-feet\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Oklahoma City Won’t Tap Water From the Aquifer Under Its Own Feet"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/p>\n

Joe Wertz \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n

The Garber-Wellington Aquifer is part of the Central Oklahoma aquifer, which every major city in the region uses \u2014 except Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n<\/div>

Moving water from the southeast Oklahoma to Oklahoma City is highly controversial<\/a>. The battle over who controls water across most of that part of the state still has the state, city and tribal governments tied up in court after more than two years.<\/p>

If only there was another large source of water, near the metro, that OKC could use. Well, State Sen. Jerry Ellis, D-Valliant, says there is: The Garber-Wellington Aquifer<\/a>. And he\u2019s tired of seeing Oklahoma City take water out of his district in the far southeast corner of the state.<\/p>

\u201cThey\u2019ve got other things. They\u2019ve got groundwater. They\u2019ve got the Garber-Wellington Aquifer there,\u201d Ellis says.<\/p>

<\/p>\n

What Aquifer?<\/h3>

StateImpact had never heard of the Garber-Wellington Aquifer. Neither had any of the half-dozen or so OKC residents we asked outside the Utilities Department downtown.<\/p>\n

\"Norman,<\/p>\n

Logan Layden \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n

Norman, Okla., well operator Scott Lewis with Well No. 52, one of 36 that serve Norman.<\/p>\n<\/div>

It\u2019s part of the larger Central Oklahoma Aquifer, an underground water supply that stretches from Guthrie to Noble, Mustang to Shawnee. And every major community in the area relies on it, at least in part \u2014 except Oklahoma City. Utilities Director Marsha Slaughter says that\u2019s not how it used to be.<\/p>

\u201cWe started out on wells. The utility started in April 1889 with one well at the stationmaster\u2019s house \u2014 the Santa Fe Railroad stationmaster\u2019s house. People brought their own bucket,\u201d Slaughter says.<\/p>

Relying mostly on shallow wells along the North Canadian River worked \u2014 for about 20 years.<\/p>

\u201cUntil about 1910 when we went dry. And there were about 24,000 people here at the time. And there was no water to be had,\u201d Slaughter says. \u201cSo we built Lake Overholser, and then we built Lake Hefner to capture rainfall.\u201d<\/p>\n

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