Local News
Drought forces deeper wells
EDMOND — Despite recent rains, Oklahoma’s drought has left some east Edmond residents high and dry.
The Oklahoma Water Resources Board Executive Director Duane Smith said the department has received numerous phone calls, e-mails and personal visits by residents who are experiencing dwindling groundwater levels and reduced yields from domestic wells. “Those individuals who don’t have access to a municipal or rural water system are particularly vulnerable to drought and dry periods.”
In a letter to The Edmond Sun, east Edmond resident Sam Bass said many people in his neighborhood are having deeper wells drilled.
“This whole area is having to drill from 150-160 feet to 240-plus feet because the water is being depleted. I don’t care how many developments, malls, churches, drug stores, Wal-Mart’s, golf courses you build. If the water runs out, you are up a creek without a paddle, a dry creek,” he wrote.
Steve Manek, Edmond’s director of engineering, said problems with changing water tables are a risk developers and home buyers in rural areas must face. He said it’s not uncommon for water tables to decline, especially in a drought.
In August, Edmond City Planner Bob Schiermeyer shared a sneak preview of what consultants will recommend to city officials in a November report.
Schiermeyer said four issues will affect development in East Edmond: Drainage, water, sewer and electric services.
The Palmer Drought Severity Index indicates that eight of Oklahoma’s nine climate regions currently are experiencing “extreme” drought, which is the most severe category of drought. More than 14 inches of rain is required to bring most regions up to normal.
Declines in groundwater levels are common during times of drought, Smith said. “These declines often impact domestic well users first, because their wells are typically not drilled to the total saturated thickness depth of the aquifer. As the density of domestic wells increases in a particular area, and those wells become stressed trying to meet peak demands, declining aquifer levels become more prevalent.”
He said rectifying those situations often requires deepening of the well or construction of an entirely new well.
Tony Waddell of Waddell Water Pump Sales in Guthrie said he’s been called to several homes in East Edmond where pumps had to be lowered.
“Some of the older wells were not as deep as they should have been and some had to be redrilled,” he said. “The wells were plenty deep at the time but consequently more and more people come online and the water lowers down a little.”
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Edmond community events
6 SATURDAY
A University of Central Oklahoma student will claim the title of Miss Black UCO at 7 p.m. in the UCO Mitchell Hall Theater. Sponsored by the Multicultural Student Services and the Black Student Association, the pageant awards the winner a $1,600 scholarship and gift basket, the first runner up an $800 scholarship and the second runner up a $600 scholarship. -
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