Agricultural News
Water Town Hall Participants Call for a 100 Year Water Plan for the State of Oklahoma
Wed, 02 Jun 2010 11:34:48 CDT
The efforts to create a comprehensive multi decade water plan for Oklahoma continues, and the Water Town Hall Meeting that wrapped up a week ago in Norman was a significant step forward. After three days of meetings, 180 leaders developed a draft water proposal to submit to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. In the months ahead, the OWRB will develop a draft water plan that will be commented on by those that attend a series of regional meetings in the first half of 2011. After those comments are digested, a final Comprehensive Water Plan will be submitted to the Legislature by early 2012. Attendees to the Town Hall agreed to several key changes to earlier ideas- including the need to write a 100 year plan versus a 50 year plan as had been first considered.
Anita Poole, Legal Counsel for American Farmers & Ranchers, says that agriculture and rural areas were well represented at the Oklahoma Academy Town Hall on the State Water Plan. Conservation and rural water districts, general farm organizations, commodity groups and policy leaders were very well represented as were many Oklahoma's farmers, ranchers and rural citizens.
We talked with Poole about her involvement with the Town Hall- and you can hear our conversation with her by clicking on the Listen Bar below.
Poole tells us that several key points surfaced as Wednesday arrived and a draft proposal came together that is being forwarded on to the OWRB. Some of the highlights were:
· Consensus on writing a 100 year plan instead of a 50 year plan taking into account the fact that neighboring states are basing their water planning on a similar time line.
· Focus on incentive based outcomes rather than regulatory action.
· Recognition of private property right relative to well metering on which there was no consensus.
· Strong grassroots watershed constituency involvement relative to infrastructure development, transfers, sales etc.
· Consensus to explore utilizing gray water and brackish water for certain applications to conserve fresh water resources.
· Support for the utilization of a best management practices approach for land use standards impacting watersheds.
· Support for interagency coordination but no consensus relative to consolidation of existing agencies or the creation of a new cabinet level position.
· No consensus on connection of surface water (publicly owned) and groundwater (privately owned) and recharge etc.
· No consensus on water being viewed as a commodity.
· Support for a conflict resolution center to resolve water issues as opposed to litigation using such a model as the Oklahoma Agricultural Mediation Program.
· To assist determining the amount of water available for planning purposes additional monitoring was preferred.
· Management of watersheds based on 13 different areas across the state which would involve stakeholders with issues relative to those areas.
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