Tulsa's Water Supply Still Strong
While many communities are restricting water use this summer
because of drought conditions, it is unlikely that Tulsa's water
customers will face any restrictions.
Tulsa is limited by the amount of water it can treat and deliver
on a daily basis, but the city owns the rights to water from
multiple sources including the Spavinaw Creek watershed, Lake
Oologah and, if needed, Lake Hudson on the Neosho River.
For the first 10 days of July, water pumpage averaged 165.75
million gallons per day; significantly below the historical maximum
daily pumpage of 192.09 million gallons which occurred on Aug. 10,
2006.
The average for the first 10 days of July is higher than the
five-year July average of 128.6 million gallons per day, but still
well below the City's capacity to deliver.
Tulsa can treat and deliver 220 million gallons of water per
day.
Water managers monitor the use and have pre-determined triggers
for both voluntary and mandatory water restrictions, although none
have been applied in recent history. If water use rises to 206
million gallons per day for two consecutive days, the City would
ask for Tulsans to voluntarily limit outside watering to between
midnight and noon on every other day. If usage rises to 213 million
gallons daily for two days, that restriction would become
mandatory.
Tulsa water customers also have no need to fear the effects of
blue-green algae in the City's water supply. Although blue-green
algae blooms at many lakes each summer, Tulsa's water supply,
treatment and distribution managers monitor the levels of the algae
and other potential contaminants and purify the water to prevent
any problems related to using Tulsa's municipal water for drinking,
bathing or other uses.
