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U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe and other state and local dignitaries will attend a ceremony this week that will help mark the next step in securing a long-term potable water supply for Bartlesville and the surrounding area.

The City of Bartlesville Water Supply Signing Ceremony is set for 8:30 a.m. Friday, June 19th. The event will be held at the Tower Center at Unity Square, located at Sixth Street and Dewey Avenue. Mayor Dale Copeland said this process started two decades ago during a serious drought that struck the area. He said Hulah Lake's levels were so low back in the day, you could almost walk across it.

The Bartlesville City Council at the time discussed going into severe water rationing at the time to get through the situation approximately 18 years ago. Mayor Copeland said he believes former Mayor Ted Lockin started the Water Resources Board to see what they could do to fix the issue and prevent it from happening again.

Water is need to bringing in new business. If the City of Bartlesville wants to grow and have more people live in the area, they have to have water. Mayor Copeland said many have worked diligently to make this possible today. He said there have been a lot of twists and turns in the road.

The ceremony marks an agreement between the City of Bartlesville and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that allows the City to purchase water rights at Copan Lake at a reasonable cost, which is now possible thanks to a provision Inhofe authored in  America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018. The public is invited to attend the event.

“Senator Inhofe’s work on this issue, along with the efforts of many others over the past two decades, has resulted in the City’s ability to purchase water storage rights at Copan Lake,” said City Manager Mike Bailey. “The ability to do this, combined with the City’s planned wastewater reuse project, will provide a drought resilient water supply for our area through at least 2060. It’s an important step for the City of Bartlesville and its water customers.”

The City of Bartlesville Water Resources Committee was formed in 2003 to seek new avenues for water supply sources after severe drought conditions hit the area in 2001-02. In 2006 the City contracted with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a study to determine the most economical water supply. The Corps completed the report and recommendations in December 2007, and at that time the City began petitioning the Corps of Engineers for a reduction in the cost of water supply at the lake. Prior to the implementation of Inhofe’s provision, water rights at Copan Lake were set at a cost of nearly $2,000 per acre-foot. Today, the City is able to purchase water storage at the lake for approximately $70 per acre-foot.

“As soon as this contract is executed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the City of Bartlesville will have immediate access to this water through our existing infrastructure, and for the first time since we began pursuing this avenue in 2007, we will have another water source to combat a drought emergency,” Bailey said.