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The Bartlesville City Council on Tuesday voted to place a temporary hold on the Water Shortage Ordinance — the City's drought contingency plan — pending a review by the recently reestablished Water Resources Committee and subsequent action by the council in October.
The hold staves off Stage 2 restrictions that would have gone into effect this week based on overall water supply falling below 70 percent. Overall supply is currently 67.9 percent, below the 70 trigger for Stage 2.
Stage 2 restrictions of the Water Shortage Ordinance limits outdoor water use to twice weekly, closes City-owned splash pads, and allows the council to impose emergency water rates. Stages 3 and 4 further limit outdoor water use and carry the potential for increased emergency water rates.
Water Utilities Director Terry Lauritsen told the council Tuesday that placing the ordinance on hold will allow the recently reestablished Water Resources Committee an opportunity to review the ordinance to determine if and where improvements can be made. The committee is expected to consider the efficacy of restrictions on outdoor water use and emergency rate increases, in addition to the tiered system for triggering the stages outlined in the ordinance.
"For instance, the restrictions implemented were not nearly as effective at curbing consumption as increasing water rates was," Lauritsen said. "It wasn't until emergency rates were imposed that we started to see a decrease in the volume of water being used."
The declining water supply is due to drought conditions in the Hulah Lake and Copan Lake watershed areas, both of which are located in Southeast Kansas. Hulah Lake provides 60 percent of the City's water supply, while Copan Lake provides 9 percent.
Water from both lakes — about 6 million gallons (mgd) per day —- is discharged into the Coney River by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to maintain the integrity of the river system. The City captures some of that water at the Johnstone Park intake station for treatment and distribution to its water customers, which include Bartlesville, Dewey, Ochelata, Ramona and several rural water districts.
Currently, water consumption is just under 7 mgd, but average use outside the summer months is 4-6 mgd.
The City entered Stage 1 of the Water Shortage Ordinance in December 2022, which requires only that the City conduct a public awareness campaign. The area moved quickly to Stage 2, when supply fell below 70 percent. Stage 3 of the four-stage plan went into effect in early spring, with supply falling below 60 percent. Outdoor water use was restricted during stages 2 and 3 and emergency water rates were imposed. At its lowest, overall supply reached about 56 percent in May. All restrictions were dropped when heavy, sustained rainfall in July pushed local supply back up to 76 percent, which falls within Stage 1 of the ordinance.
Since that time, however, water supply has steadily declined due to the ongoing drought conditions in Kansas. Lauritsen said the City's reservoir is losing an average of about 1 percent of supply per week.
"The good news is that September is historically a good month for rain, so we certainly hope that will be the case this month," he said. "And next week is supposed to be cooler with rain predictions throughout the week."
He said with the temperature dropping he expects supply will hover in the mid-to-upper 60s in the coming weeks.
The issue was discussed during a Water Resources Committee meeting held last week, when the committee met for the first time in several years following action by the City Council to approve an updated membership in July.
The committee, established in the early 2000s following the drought of 2001-02, is tasked with exploring potential water supply options and reviewing the effectiveness of the Water Shortage Ordinance and the actions taken over the past several months to preserve water supply.
The committee is expected to make recommendations to the City Council regarding possible modifications to the ordinance and how the City might best progress toward acquiring additional water sources to meet the demands of the future. The City needs to identify 10 to 16 additional million gallons of water per day to meet the area's projected needs over the next several decades.
During last week's meeting, committee members elected Mayor Dale Copeland as chair and Ward 4 Councilor Billie Roane as vice chair, and heard a presentation on the current water supply and previous work of the WRC. The following projects have been identified as being potential options to help meet future supply:
- Reallocation of water at Hulah Lake (ongoing)
- Secure additional water rights at Copan Lake (ongoing)
- Feasibility of utilizing Kaw, Birch and Skiatook lakes
- Feasibility of constructing Sand Lake
- Possibility of purchasing potable water from Collinsville, Skiatook and/or Tulsa
- Determine yield and sustainability of Ada-Vamoosa Aquifier
Costs associated with the resources range from reallocation at Hulah on the low end, at $42.5 million, to $150 million for water rights and infrastructure required to utilize water from Kaw Lake. The committee is expected to select the most feasible options for further exploration at their next meeting, set for Sept. 14.
To view slides from the presentation, see Updated Water Resources Committee Presentation.
For more information about the Water Shortage Ordinance or conservation, see www.cityofbartlesville.org.
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