Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District Feasibility Study
Floor Speech
CENTRAL OKLAHOMA MASTER CONSERVANCY DISTRICT FEASIBILITY STUDY -- (House of Representatives - July 10, 2007)
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Mr. COLE of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1337.
This bill, which I authored, provides for a water feasibility study to ascertain additional sources of water for the Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District, which serves the cities of Norman, Midwest City, and Del City, Oklahoma. This bill provides limited Federal assistance, with the Conservancy District providing a local 50/50 match and demonstrating their dedication to this critical initiative. This legislation will help address and alleviate the water challenges facing these three cities. I would like to commend and sincerely thank all the parties involved in working hard to help see this bill pass into public law.
The primary source of water for the Conservancy District is Lake Thunderbird, completed in 1965 by the Bureau of Reclamation. Incidentally, since 1988 one of the cities serviced by the Conservancy District, Norman, Oklahoma, has on numerous occasions exceeded their annual share of Lake Thunderbird's supplies. As a result, Norman has been forced to pull additional water from its original water source used before Lake Thunderbird was built and create an emergency supply line from nearby Oklahoma City. Recognizing that the projected demand on water supply will only increase as these three cities grow in population, the Conservancy District is taking proactive steps to find long-range solutions to their water needs.
In 2003, working with the Conservancy District and recognizing the water strain in central Oklahoma, Congress provided the Bureau of Reclamation with funding for an initial water study, which it completed in August of 2005. This appraisal explores and proposes much-needed viable opportunities to enhance the current and long-term water supply of the Conservancy District. I introduced H.R. 1337 both at the behest of the Conservancy District and in the same spirit that Congress previously funded the building of Lake Thunderbird and the appraisal investigation: to facilitate the long-term vitality and well-being of the citizens served by the Conservancy District and, as an extension, the vitality and well-being of Oklahoma as a whole. It is important to note, Mr. Speaker, that the Conservancy District provides waters for more than 175,000 residents, meaning that no fewer than one out of every four of my constituents stands to benefit from this study.
Mr. Speaker, I sincerely appreciate the chairman and ranking member's diligent work on this bill, and I strongly urge support and passage of H.R. 1337.
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