Oklahoma Water Survey plans water reuse workshops

Wastewater reuse in Oklahoma is the topic for three upcoming educational outreach forums open to the public at no cost. The meetings are designed to inform the public and to allow people to provide input for Oklahoma’s future water resource planning.

The Oklahoma Water Survey together with faculty at the University of Oklahoma as well as staff with the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, City of Norman, and Garver, a multi-disciplined engineering, planning and environmental services firm, will guide the forums, which are scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on April 23, May 14 and June 18. The forums will be in Room 1313 at the National Weather Center,100 David L. Boren Blvd., in Norman.

Wastewater recycling, reclamation, and reuse may be an option for many communities to augment their drinking water supplies, especially in areas where fresh water resources are limited. These efforts could also be a tool to help achieve the goal set out under Oklahoma’s Water Act for 2060 to use no more fresh water in 2060 than was used in 2010 while preserving Oklahoma’s population growth and economic development goals.

The first forum will help explain water quality and water quantity management practices in Oklahoma, the current regulatory environment for reuse of water resources, and a brief summary of these matters as they relate to the 2012 Update of the Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plan as well as help lay the groundwork for the succeeding forums.

There is no fee for the public forum, however, participants are asked to register at www.oklahomawatersurvey.org.