City of Tulsa Celebrates Source Water Protection Week Sept. 29-Oct. 5

City of Tulsa Celebrates Source Water Protection Week Sept. 29-Oct. 5

10/2/2024

From Sept. 29-Oct. 5, the City of Tulsa is joining water utilities and cities nationwide to recognize and celebrate Source Water Protection Week and raise awareness about the importance of caring for our drinking water sources. The City of Tulsa is committed to protecting our source water and works hard to ensure that Tulsa's water is always clean and safe.

The best way to assure we have high quality drinking water at the tap is to protect our water sources. When rivers, lakes and underground wells are kept free from pollution, it's easier and less expensive to keep water safe and healthy. Source water is a raw, untreated supply of water that is used for current or future drinking water. Source water protection is a proactive approach to safeguard, maintain, and improve the quality and quantity of drinking water sources and their surrounding areas.

The City of Tulsa and its residents get water from three main sources: lakes Spavinaw, Eucha, and Oologah. These lakes supply Tulsa's source water, which ultimately flows through miles of pipes and reaches taps throughout the Tulsa metropolitan area.

"The City of Tulsa and the Tulsa Metropolitan Utility Authority have invested in Source Water Protection since the Spavinaw Water Project in 1924," said Director of Water and Sewer Eric Lee. "We are proud to have 24 dedicated City of Tulsa employees located in Spavinaw and Eucha, Oklahoma who focus on protecting our watershed that provides source water to over 550,000 people in Northeast Oklahoma. Protecting our Spavinaw-Eucha lakes means we minimize the costs to treat the great-tasting, award-winning water we produce every day. We will continue to focus our time, talent and resources on protecting our source water which has been vital to Tulsa's success for the last 100 years and will be for the next 100 years."

In 2019, the City of Tulsa won the Exemplary Source Water Protection Award from the American Water Works Association for our strong protection program. City of Tulsa biologists, chemists and data analysts collect and analyze over 10,000 water samples every year just for the Spavinaw and Eucha lake systems to ensure high-quality source water.

The City of Tulsa and the Tulsa Metropolitan Utility Authority continue to invest money in conservation easements and work with landowners in Tulsa's watershed to reduce unwanted pollutants from entering water sources. The City also works to acquire conservation land around water supply lakes to help protect the natural landscapes and prevent development that could harm the water quality. Over the years, the City has invested in conservation easements that protect over 5,150 acres in the Eucha-Spavinaw watershed. These efforts help ensure that Tulsa's water is protected and kept clean for residents to enjoy for years to come.

For more information and to learn more about Tulsa's water supply, visit cityoftulsa.org/watersupply