The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

Opinion

Discussion

December 3, 2007

We must consider water as probable crisis of future

“Water, water everywhere, and all the boards did shrink; water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.”

Those lines from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” tells of the quandary posed as a sailing ship is marooned in the doldrums of the southern Pacific, surrounded by water, none of it fit to drink.

Those of us in Oklahoma don’t have to worry about water. We have plenty. All we have to do is turn on the tap and the water flows. But what happens if one day we turn the tap and little or no water comes out?

Could it happen? Yes, say experts. They are warning the state’s apparent abundance of water could be a mirage. State officials say growing population and increased demand could spell trouble in the future.

The state Department of Commerce predicts the state’s population will grow by 17 percent in the next two decades, with 4.2 million residents by 2030.

Water use will grow at almost the same rate, climbing 14 percent, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. By 2030, the Corps of Engineers estimates, Oklahoma will use more than 744 million gallons of water per year.

But water levels in the state’s bedrock aquifers are dropping, less than an inch in the case of the Ogallala aquifer in western Oklahoma, to 21.03 inches in the case of the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer in the southern part of the state.

As quantity is an issue, so is water quality. Federal rules for ground water contamination have tightened, including rules for naturally occurring arsenic — which has shut down water wells in Norman and Moore.

So what can we do? That is the question being pondered by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board and other agencies as they work on revamping the state’s water plan. That new plan is due by 2011.

We applaud the study and the fact it means so many people are taking water issues seriously. We would urge everyone to give thought to water — how we use it, where it comes from and the water-related issues we could be facing in the future.

Text Only
Opinion
Featured Ads
AP Video
California's Foie Gras Ban About to Begin 6-Year-Old Going to National Spelling Bee Video Essay: Funky Winkerbean Comic Turns 40 On Thailand Trip, Suu Kyi Visits Migrants Raw Video: Pink Diamond Auctioned for $17.4M Hurricane Andrew Remembered, 20 Years Later Sister Says She Reported Brother in Patz Killing Patz Suspect's Sister: I Went to Police in 1980s Diplomatic Expulsions Follow Fresh Syria Report 15 Dead in Northern Italy's 5.8-magnitude Quake Angry Birds Spreading Their Wings Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108 Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing New Ticks Spread Across Southeast, Diseases Rise Bring Your Own Tech Programs Charge Up Students Pope's Butler Vows to Help Vatican Investigation
NDN Video
UN negotiator: Syria has reached the tipping point Tori Bares Baby Bump in Monokini Al-Qaida Hid Messages in Porn Letterman on Family Life Post-Scandal 6-Year-Old Going to National Spelling Bee Raw Video: Pink Diamond Auctioned for $17.4M Kim Cattrall's Mystery Man Romney set to clinch GOP presidential nomination Meet the Crew and Good Ship 'Prometheus' Couple doesn’t let tropical storm ruin their big day Even Fla. Police Shocked by Face-Mauling Attack Pregnant Reese Wears LBD Evans: Serena in shock Volcano covers Colombian cities in ash Los Angeles Bar Bans Bachelorettes Hamster Plays Dead Beyonce Shows Off 60 Pound Weight Loss at Concert Drunk Women Breaking Into Houses: A New Trend? LeAnn Rimes Rocks Short Shorts Raw Video: Cop Shoots Man Eating Another's Face
Seasonal Content
House Ads