Saving Rain for Sunny Days: Oklahoma's Plan to Study Artificial Aquifer Recharge

For decades, communities throughout the United States have managed the “feast or famine” cycle of floods and droughts by building dams and creating reservoirs to store water for future needs. As the costs of building those reservoirs increase, and as suitable locations decrease with the urbanization of America, innovative solutions must be found to provide water to growing populations.

The State of Oklahoma, which suffered from an extended drought in 2006 followed by extensive flooding in 2007, has decided to scientifically study the process of capturing excess ground water and expediting the process of storing it in aquifers. The practice of artificially recharging aquifers has been successfully tested in many other parts of the world, but until now, has not been a common water management strategy in North America.

The Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) will name a technical work group to recommend demonstration projects designed to recharge various types of aquifers located in Oklahoma.  The state has 21 major aquifers, including the Ogallala aquifer in far Western Oklahoma where enough water is stored to cover the entire state in two-feet of water. However, its distance from the state’s growing population centers makes it impractical to transport to areas of need.

Once named, the technical work group will review different locations in the state where aquifer recharge demonstration projects may be most feasible to implement. The group must give particular consideration to: unconfined, alluvial aquifers; confined, sedimentary aquifers; unconfined, karst or fractured rock aquifers; and confined, karst or fractured rock aquifers.The demonstration projects will seek to increase aquifer yields for both public water supply and agricultural use. The data will then be used to update future Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plans.