Report Title: A look at the water resources of Oklahoma
Report Number: Shale Shaker v.7, no. 10
Authors: T.B. Dover, John Horton, and A.R. Leonard
Abstract
One of the first requisites for intelligent planning of the
utilization and control of water and for the administration of laws
relating to its use, is data on the quantity, quality, and mode of
occurrence of water supplies. The collection, evaluation,
interpretation, and publication of such data constitute the primary
function of the Water Resources Division of the United States
Geological Survey. Since 1895 the Congress has made appropriations to
this agency for investigations of the water resources of the Nation.
In 1929 the Congress adopted the policy of dollar-for-dollar
cooperation with State and local governmental agencies for
water-resources investigations. In 1935 the Oklahoma Legislature took
advantage of this policy and appropriated funds to the Conservation
Commission, the predecessor of the Oklahoma Planning and Resources
Board, for a stream-gaging program to be carried out in cooperation
with the Geological Survey. In 1937 a program of ground-water
investigations was started in cooperation with the Oklahoma Geological
Survey, and in 1949 this program was expanded to include cooperation
with the Oklahoma Planning Resources Board. Studies of the quality of
water resources were begun in 1944 in cooperation with the Oklahoma
Planning and Resources Board. Studies of the quality of water
resources were begun in 1944 in cooperation with the Oklahoma Planning
and Resources Board. The Oklahoma Water Resources Board, created by
the 26th Legislature, is the successor of the Planning and Resources
Board as the principal state Water Agency and cooperating agency with
the Geological Survey in water resources investigations. Other State
and local agencies that participate in cooperative programs with the
Water Resources Division in Oklahoma are the Oklahoma State Department
of Health, Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, Grand River
Dam Authority, and Oklahoma City and Lawton.
Essentially all our usable water is derived from precipitation. Data
collected by the U.S. Weather Bureau show that the normal annual
precipitation in Oklahoma is 33.39 inches (approximately 40,000
billion gallons or 124 million acre-feet). Much of the precipitation
is evaporated or transpired by native vegetation and is not available
for use. The estimated average annual runoff in Oklahoma is about
6,000 billion gallons (19 million acre-feet), or about 15 percent of
the average precipitation. Roughly this represents the upper limit of
surface and ground water available for development in the State.
(available as photostat copy only)
http://ok.water.usgs.gov/abstracts/ocgs.ssv7.html
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Last modified: Tue May 18 14:41:04 1999