Published: July 02, 2008 02:46 pm            

Letters to the Editor, July 2, 2008

Dear Editor,

Why did Oklahoma Water Resources Board officials and Ada’s $386,000 engineering firm not disclose at recent town hall, names and number of families who will lose their homes and lands when and if 9,000 acres are taken from them?

Folks forced off lands by condemnation to build Scissortail Lake.

Why were you not told at the meeting that proposed Scissortail Lake’s land will be removed from county property tax rolls like all US Corps of Engineers and most State municipal lake lands?

Less property taxed results in direct hits on Ada and County public school revenues.

Old expression ‘Stay with the one who brung you to the dance,’ applies here.

Better use of thousands spent on out-of-town water experts would have been on a closer look at Byrd’s Mill Springs fed by Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer: A blue gold deposit in your back yards.

The Arbuckle aquifer as many agree should be one of two places considered for Ada’s future secondary water source.

Storage lakes have high water losses from evaporation; aquifers do not and are nature's near perfect water storage facility.

Recent tree rings studies show Ada area suffered a long thirteen year drought in 1800s, better listen to locals who know aquifer recharge mechanics and how to keep it healthy. Why ECU professors and students left out, be surprised at how smart they are in water matters.

Second Possible Source: Why Ada not told 20,000 acre feet per year of unused unallocated water at McGee Creek Reservoir?

It is connected to Oklahoma City’s water pipeline running by Ada. Demand to know who will control Sardis Lake water? [National average residential water $2.25 per thousand gal.]

Coalgate unable to get small 2,000 acre ft per year from McGee Creek Reservoir now forced to spend several million rebuilding Coalgate Lake, which has poor water quality anyway. OWRB blocked their application, Lake Atoka to OKC pipeline is nearby Coalgate.

Sound familiar!

Oklahoma’s poor water management advice also enabled certain locals along with top State officials, and private engineers with straight faces, to support Ada spending millions on a moronic lake idea.

OWRB allows Oklahoma City monopoly over South East Oklahoma water supplies.

OKC takes and takes from basin-of-origin water, giving nothing of value in return.

Ask people in Atoka and Coal Counties about OKC’s poor stewardship at Lake Atoka and McGee Creek Reservoirs.

Ask Oklahoma County smaller cities about OKC’s agenda to be ‘Water Master of Oklahoma.’

Sadly there exists major disparity between politics, special interests and science in Oklahoma water management.

Our future should be with highest beneficiary uses of State water for all and its companion ‘water security:’ not selling water to Texas or being the obedient water boy for OWRB and Oklahoma City.

Will debate in public any officials on my serious allegations of their Oklahoma natural water resources mismanagement...



Bob Jackman,

Tulsa Geologist and longtime volunteer in Oklahoma Water Wars

        

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