Oklahoma Adjusts To Era Of Drought

Waiting until water shortages strike is probably not the ideal time to begin planning for a drought.

"The best time to plan for a multiyear drought is when the state isn’t in the middle of one, state water managers agreed" at a symposium in October, according to The Oklahoman.

Much of Oklahoma is already experiencing drought, but some parts of the state are not currently affected or only qualify as abnormally dry, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a service provided by federal agencies.

Guymon, a city of around 12,000 people in Oklahoma, has experienced extreme drought this year. Officials are trying to make policy changes to help the city handle its water challenges.

"Guymon City Manager Kim Meek said the city has been working to revamp its water use policies to prepare for population growth and make the community better equipped to handle drought in the future," the Oklahoman reported.

Previously, Guymon was not so prepared. The city simply tried to react to dry weather when it occurred.

"When the city wasn’t in drought, most residents didn’t think about water conservation," the report said.

Guymon is in Texas County, where more water is used than anywhere else in the state.

"Agricultural irrigation represents about 85 percent of the county’s water use, Meek said, with only about 2.7 percent going toward public water supplies," the report said.

What other policy changes is Guymon planning?

“Every year, I need to drill a water well,” Meek said, according to NPR. “We get close to $500,000 per well. And if we need 50 wells by 2060, the quick math is $16 million just to drill water wells to provide the water we need for our growing population.”

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