 Arkansas River, Downtown Tulsa, OK
Save the date!!! OWRB will host Round 5 of Regional Meetings in March to discuss preliminary recommendations in the 2025 Update to the Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plan. Make plans to join us and share your ideas.
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March 4, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. | SW – Cameron University, McMahon Centennial Complex – McAsland Ballroom A/B, 2800 W. Gore Blvd., Lawton, OK 73505 | West Central, Southwest, Beaver-Cache, and Lower Washita OCWP Planning Regions
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March 5, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. | NW – High Plains Technology Center, Seminar Center, 3921 34th, Woodward, OK 73801 | Panhandle OCWP Planning Region
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March 25, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. | NE – OSU Tulsa, Conference Center – B.S. Roberts Room, 700 N. Greenwood Ave., Tulsa, OK 74106 | Middle Arkansas, Grand, Eufaula, and Lower Arkansas OCWP Planning Regions
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March 26, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. | SE – Kiamichi Technology Center, Conference Room, 13739 SE. 202nd, Talihina, OK 74571 | Blue-Boggy and Southeast OCWP Planning Regions
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March 27, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. | Central – Robert R. Lester Training Center, Classroom A, 3600 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73111 | Upper Arkansas and Central OCWP Planning Regions
As part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), more than 40 researchers from Oklahoma State University, University of Oklahoma, University of Tulsa, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Langston University, East Central University, and Noble Research Institute are working to develop and test science-based solutions for "Wicked (complex) Problems" at the intersection of land use, water availability, and infrastructure in Oklahoma. The novelty of the project lies in both its design and vision: a social science-led, multi-disciplinary collaboration among social, physical, biological, engineering, and computational scientists from institutions across the state that incorporates the perspectives of competing social narratives.
A panel of approximately 2,500 geolocated households across the state of Oklahoma responded to multiple surveys a year to provide data on how to develop socially sustainable solutions for water, carbon, and infrastructure resilience in Oklahoma. Five waves (or rounds) of surveys were conducted starting in 2021. The survey waves continue every 3-6 months and new data is posted after the conclusion of each wave. The survey responses are available online and can be viewed in a variety of ways such as by OCWP Region, Age, Ethnicity, Education, Ideology, and Wave Time. The following highlights a few S3OK items relevant to the ongoing OCWP.
- If you were advising the scientists and policymakers who are working on this project, which of the following would you tell them require the most attention?
- Water Quality, Water Availability, and Water Cost each ranked among the top 5 responses.
- Do you have concerns about water availability in your region of Oklahoma?
- Statewide, 39% of all respondents said “Probably No” while 22% said “Probably Yes.”
- Southwest OCWP Region respondents expressed the greatest concerns (57% indicating “Probably Yes” or “Definitely Yes”).
- Middle Arkansas and Eufaula OCWP Region respondents had the lowest water availability concerns (about 20% of respondents indicating “Probably Yes” or “Definitely Yes”).
- These results are consistent with OCWP physical water availability findings (see Round 3 Regional Meeting Summary for preliminary data on physical supply shortages).
- Do you have any concerns about water quality in your region of Oklahoma?
- Statewide, 30% of all respondents said “Probably Yes,” while 27% said “Probably No.”
- In each OCWP Region except the Upper Arkansas Planning Region, more than 50% of respondents indicated “Probably Yes” or “Definitely Yes.”
- Do you have concerns about water cost in your region of Oklahoma?
- 28% of all respondents said “Probably No,” while 27% said “Probably Yes.”
- The Eufaula OCWP Region expressed the greatest concerns (56% “Probably Yes” or “Definitely Yes.”)
- The Grand OCWP Region had the lowest concerns (33% “Probably Yes” or “Definitely Yes.”)
- In Wave 3, when asked if they would vote for a state program to financially support water reuse, more than 50% of respondents in all OCWP Regions indicated probable or definite support, if it would not cost them anything. Respondents in the OCWP Southwest and Central Regions indicated the greatest support.
References:
University of Oklahoma Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis. (2021). Public Survey on Socially Sustainable Solutions for Water, Carbon, and Infrastructure Resilience in Oklahoma. Retrieved from https://crcm.shinyapps.io/s3ok.
Oklahoma EPSCoR (2024, December 20). https://www.okepscor.org/
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced the following funding opportunities.
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WaterSMART for Small Scale Water Efficiency Projects – Eligible projects include canal lining/piping, municipal metering, irrigation flow measurement, SCADA, landscape irrigation measures, high-efficiency indoor appliances and fixtures, and commercial cooling systems. Maximum award amount of $100,000. Application period 4 deadline is July 8, 2025. This notice of funding opportunity announcement is available at grants.gov by searching for funding opportunity R24AS00059 or by clicking here.
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WaterSMART for Environmental Water Resources Projects – Funding is available for projects for water conservation and efficiency, water management and infrastructure improvements, river and watershed restoration, or nature-based solutions that provide significant ecological benefits to help increase the reliability of water resources. The current application period closes on March 11, 2025 at 5 pm. Click here to view the funding opportunity announcement or navigate to grants.govthen search for funding opportunity R24AS00299. Learn more about the Environmental Water Resource Projects by clicking here.
- OWRB Financial Assistance Division announced that the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund (CWSRF) Forgiveness Program applications will be accepted from February 3 to March 14. Learn more by visiting OWRB’s website or attending the SFY26 CWSRF Loan Forgiveness Webinar on January 29.
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2025 Master Irrigator Program - The Master Irrigator Program from OSU Extension provides advanced training on irrigation water management, irrigation system and equipment maintenance, energy conservation, water conservation and quality, and economics of irrigated agriculture. The 2025 program will be offered on January 22, January 29, February 5, and February 12 at the Caddo Kiowa Technology Center in Fort Cobb. Learn more and register here.
- OWRB and OFMA announced 2025 Floodplain Workshops for the Spring and Summer. Learn more and register for a Floodplain Management 101, Floodplain Management 202, or OFMA Special Topics in Floodplain Management course today! Spots are limited by visiting the OWRB website.
- EPA is hosting a Water Workforce Webinar on February 4 from 11:30 am – 1:00 pm CST. In today’s water sector, it is essential for utilities and industry professionals to collaborate, access vital training, and explore innovative technologies that address the challenges of 21st-century water services. A leading example of this collaboration is The Water Tower (TWT) in Gwinnett County, Georgia. TWT is a first-of-its-kind nonprofit global water innovation hub for water and wastewater utilities, researchers, private companies, and water-related organizations to collaboratively solve critical, real-world water and environmental challenges. Learn more and register by reviewing the invitation or visiting EPA’s website for recordings of previous webinars.
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American Water Works Association (AWWA) is hosting free webinars on January 23 on Pipeline Management: Is Your Data Ready for Action? and February 4 on Loss to Savings: Non-Revenue Water Successes. Both webinars are sponsored and presented by Xylem. Links provide description and registration form.
 Team OCWP is truly excited about the upcoming Recommendations meetings! Rethinking how we approach water and water issues is really what the Oklahoma Water Plan is all about!
All of the data, all of the conversations, all of the surveys, all of the challenges, all of the site visits, meeting new people, ultimately give us diverse pieces of the Oklahoma water story and inform us where the shortfalls are, what the funding needs are, and the coarse corrections that should be taken.
We hope you'll join us in March to hear the big picture takeaways, discuss them further and share with us how they might need to be tweaked for your region or for your water sector. If you can't make it in person, there's a virtual option that we hope you'll take advantage of; or you can just email me directly your ideas / issues.
Also, we hope that once we refine these recommendations and submit them to the legislature, that you will stay involved and work with your local leaders to make those changes happen, get the funding, MAKE WATER MATTER so we can be a Top 10 State in clean abundant habitat-rich scenic water for Oklahoma!
See you in March!
Owen Mills Director of Water Planning owen.mills@owrb.ok.gov
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