Oklahoma has 22 major groundwater basins containing 390 million acre-feet of water, with the Ogallala Aquifer being the largest, able to store 90 million acre-feet. The state also has over 55,000 miles of surface water. However, about 500 residents in Red Rock, Oklahoma currently do not have access to clean drinking water due to high levels of silt and dirt contaminating their water supply after a flood opened a nearby dam. The State of Oklahoma oversees over 1,680 public water supply systems serving 3.7 million people. Though Oklahoma receives over 10.5 million acre-feet of water annually through rivers, which exceeds total state demand of 1.8 million acre-feet.

1. Oklahoma's Water Supply
Heartland Tank Services
http://heartlandtankservices.com

2. Oklahoma has a total of 22 major groundwater basins that contain approximately 390
million acre-feet of water in storage. In the western half of the state, groundwater
serves a significant purpose as it is the primary source of water. It is noteworthy to
mention how the Ogallala Aquifer in western Oklahoma is the state’s largest
groundwater basin. It has the capacity to store 90 million acre-feet of water. To
contextualize its importance, the water it can supply can place the entire state in water
measuring two feet deep.
The state’s surface water, on the one hand, measures about 55,646 miles. This covers
the shoreline of lakes and ponds, all contributing to the 1,401 square miles of water
area that happens to be larger than the state of Rhode Island. It is reasonable, then, to
presume that there is an abundant supply of water in Oklahoma.
Contamination of Drinking Water
It is unfortunate, though, that there are about 500 residents in northern Oklahoma’s
Red Rock who are without clean and safe drinking water. The Oklahoma Department of
Environmental Quality recently came to the discovery of high levels of silt and dirt from
the Otoe-Missouria Tribe’s water plant. The particles found contaminating the water
plant can be a cause for viruses to spread.

3. The officials of the tribe disclosed the existence of a high level of turbidity due to a
Kansas flood last month. Heather Payne, the public information officer for the Otoe-
Missouria Tribe, explained how opening the Kaw Dam caused “a lot of silt and dirt” to
stir up in the water.
The Allocation of Water Supply
At present time, the State of Oklahoma’s Public Water Supply (PWS) program oversees
more than 1,680 active public water supply systems. This entails the availability of safe
drinking water for human consumption. The state’s PWS systems serve around 3.7
million people, 187 of whom utilize surface water and 788 use groundwater systems as
their primary sources. Meanwhile, there are 705 PWS systems that buy their water.
On a yearly basis, there is an estimate of 10.5 million acre-feet of water flowing into
Oklahoma through a couple of river basins. This is more than enough to supply the total
water demand of the state, which in 2007, amounted to as much as 1.8 million acre-
feet.

4. Resources:
 http://heartlandtankservices.com/
 https://www.owrb.ok.gov/util/waterfact.php
 http://www.koco.com/article/hundreds-of-residents-outside-of-red-rock-without-
clean-drinking-water/4831732