Published: November 28, 2007 11:53 am            

Water Puzzle: Its aquifer threatened, Ada considers stocking up on water

“I don’t think most of us want to leave our children and grandchildren with less water than what we came in with."

ADA, Okla. — Danny Matthews pays about $240 every two months for water and garbage service for his hair salon and pool and spa businesses in Ada.

A friend of his recently paid $78 on a bill that included filling a pool.

“Ada, to me, is a Pollyanna world,” said Matthews. “We’ve had it really good.”

He wants to keep it that way.

Matthews belongs to a citizen board studying the creation of a 4,700-acre reservoir for recreation and to ensure the city’s water supply.

The city’s source is nearby Byrds Mill Spring, which is fed by the Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer.

But the aquifer, which has not been heavily used, is drawing increased interest from outsiders. That has some in Ada concerned – and planning ahead.

“As we all know, water is going to be a big issue in years to come,” Matthews said.

All of Oklahoma’s groundwater sources are vulnerable, according to Bob Donaho, president of Citizens for the Protection of the Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer. The reason is legal pumping limits based on the assumption that an aquifer can be depleted over 20 years.

“That originally sounded like a good idea because, let’s think about it, when we first started doing all of this, we had a mule on a stick going around, pumping up a little bit of water out of an aquifer,” Donaho said. “Now we have pumps and motors that can pump millions of gallons of water in an hour.

“It’s a different set of technologies that are applying to the same water sources,” he said.

Growing populations and dwindling supplies have many looking for new water sources. So the relatively healthy Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer is drawing notice.

In 2003, several central Oklahoma cities wanted to buy water from landowners on top of the aquifer. But those living in southeast Oklahoma worried they might take too much.

The Legislature stopped the state Water Resources Board from issuing any new permits on the aquifer until after a five-year study could assess its supply and determine how much could be taken without affecting existing streams and springs. That study is due next year.

In the meantime, an Oklahoma judge recently ruled that a Texas mining company could use any water from the aquifer it finds while mining a quarry near Mill Creek.

Ada City Councilor Dick Scalf said the state must manage water differently.

He said there has been a mining mindset, in which people believe they can pump water until it’s gone.

“I don’t think most of us want to leave our children and grandchildren with less water than what we came in with,” he said.

Given that pressure on the aquifer, Matthews said the creation of Scissortail Lake would ensure ample water for Ada’s future.

It would be much like projects from the 1930s through ‘60s, when the state built 30 to 40 reservoirs, according to Brian Vance, spokesman for the Water Resources Board. Most of the projects were in eastern Oklahoma.

Matthews said building a lake will be worth the $150 million to $180 million price, since it will serve as a water supply while also drawing tourists. If residents vote for the project, it will likely mean water rate increases, tax increases and a bond issue.

Matthews said he would hate to see tax increases.

“But I also would hate to be without water,” he said.