October 13, 2021 Issue, Page 4 of 10

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Agriculture October 13, 2021 Water 101: Understanding Oklahoma’s rural water systems By Gail Ellis County property in 2000, he aquifers. purpose, such as drinking wa- es and communities. prentices learn how to operate drilled a well and had the wa- “It's pretty much split ter or irrigation, or based on “The process is conducted equipment, understand water STILLWATER, Okla. - ter tested for domestic use. The along I-35 with surface water the average annual flow of a about every 10 years in the treatment processes, detect Clean and safe water for drink- water proved adequate for his sourcing the majority of rural nearby stream minus the num- Oklahoma Comprehensive leaks, manage finances, and ber of permits already allocat- Water Plan with a plethora of perform many other duties ing and household use is one home, but four years later the systems in the eastern part of of life’s necessities, but some well system became plagued the state and well water used ed for that stream segment,” studies, work groups and pub- required in the office and field lic input,” Mills said. The last for rural and municipally run residents served by Oklahoma with sediment buildup that for the western regions,” said Mills said. On the other hand, the one was completed in 2012, water systems. State University Extension forced Burch to replace his hot Brandon Bowman, programs amount of groundwater per- and the next one is starting struggle to access the vital re- water tank every few months. manager for the ORWA. “This is a trend we're see- mitted to a water provider is now with a targeted comple- ing nationwide—over the next source. ‘The well had become undesir- The ORWA and the OWRB Rural water districts popu- able for home use, and Burch’s determined by its aquifer. The tion date of 2025.” work closely on state water and few years, we're expected to late the Oklahoma landscape journey began to obtain rural wastewater issues. The ORWA default usage limit is two-acre ORWA Apprenticeship Pro- lose 44% of our aging water serving thousands, but what water. is a nonprofit that supports feet per year of water per acre gram staff,” Welch said. “We're look- happens when the public util- “We live in the Morrison the technical operations and you own or lease. Once an aqui- State water planning ing for individuals willing to ity is not readily available? A School District, but Morrison management of rural water fer has a completed hydrologic doesn't immediately address wade through the muck and recent survey conducted by the couldn’t sell us water because districts through training and study to determine the maxi- the problems rural residents mud and keep water flowing to Oklahoma Water Resources of the contract it had signed advocacy at the state capitol. mum annual yield of an aqui- may face with their personal homes.” fer, it then must go through a well system or lack of access to Center reported that drinking with the Lone Chimney Water ‘The OWRB is a state agency One last shot water quality was the state's District,” he said. that oversees water use appro- public hearing process to set rural water, but the ORWA is While the ORWA builds its top water resources concern. After inquiring about local priation and permitting as well a permanent usage limit, or working to improve its training operations teams for increased According to officials at the rural water connections and as water quality monitoring, equal proportionate share. criteria and prepare a younger rural water usage in the future, “That share is based on a generation of workers for the OSU center, only 60% of sur- running into a few roadblocks, dam safety, floodplain man- Pawnee Rural Water District 20- to 50-year lifespan of the growing demand of technical vey respondents felt their wa- the district received a grant agement, water planning and No. 7 continues to explore how ter was safe to drink, yet less worth more than $80,000 the distribution of financial aquifer if every acre of it was and operations support. This it can acquire rural water for than 15% of participants said from the Oklahoma Water assistance for water and waste- permitted and fully utilized summer, the ORWA launched its members. As of October, they test their drinking water. Resources Board to drill two water systems. every year,” Mills said. “The a two-year apprenticeship pro- Burch said new hope has been Rural residents seeking a wells on private property, each Owen Mills, OWRB direc- lifespan is a conservative esti- gram for rural water systems found in Morrison's current water source for domestic use 70 feet deep, with permission tor of water planning, said mate in that none of our aqui- operators. water source. After Lone Chim- have three options: drill their from the landowner. The wells state water studies help the fers are utilized 100% on every “Many new employees have ney Lake went dry, the town own wells, pay to install piping produced water, but the Okla- OWRB determine water and acre. However, it's important no experience in treatment 0} received funding to install a to the nearest public, rural wa- homa Department of Environ- permit availability for ground- for people to understand that erations or meter technology,” water line to Stillwater. Morri- ter connection or haul it from mental Quality flagged them water and surface water per- the groundwater permit law as said apprenticeship program coordinator Jeannie Shurbet. son’s municipal water supply is a nearby municipality or rural for high levels of manganese. mits. Rural water districts written is not designed with an water source. Also, the wells were ques- and municipal water providers aspect of sustainability.” “Many have learned in the past now capable of providing water “If you have access to well tioned for pulling an excessive receive a permit to use water Oklahoma Comprehensive through trial by fire. Every sys- to Pawnee No. 7. Water Plan 2025 tem out there is a little bit dif- “We will have to pay Mor- water and you inquire about amount of surface water from from a nearby lake, stream or rison a transportation fee for rural water, it’s because your a nearby lake and the Arkansas their own groundwater well, OWRB water planning in- ferent, but we're going to pro- volves accessing current and vide a base level of knowledge the line plus what the city of well has gone dry or is contam- River. all of which are metered and Stillwater is going to charge inated,” said JR Welch, chief “It’s a never-ending battle reported monthly to the DEQ. 50-year supply and demand that can be applied statewide.” us, but now we don’t have the operations officer for the Okla- advocating for access to rural The OWRB offers low loan levels among the state's 82 Current requirements to basins. State officials examine huge expense of building a wa- work as a systems operator are homa Rural Water Association. water, anda lot of the costs are rates to finance a rural water “Unfortunately, the landowner coming out of our own pock- system but has no jurisdiction limited to passing a certifica- ter treatment plant for those where shortages and surpluses is sometimes responsible for ets,” Burch said. over its daily operations. tion test facilitated through the wells we drilled,” Burch said. might occur in the future and the cost of rural water. There’s In the meantime, he pur- Individual rural homeown- explore how the state might DEQ, but the new ORWA ap- “We have this one last shot at funding to assist rural water chases his drinking water at ers can operate and access adjust its water rules and regu- prenticeship program requires rural water thanks to all the lations along with what local participants to complete 4,000 state officials and people be- districts or neighbors can in- the grocery store, and depend- drinking water wells that are vest together in a portion of ing on the strength and water not permitted or regulated by planners might need to ad- hours of on-the-job training, hind the scenes who've helped dress as they plan for growth including more than 200 hours us over the years, and I hope it the water line.” quality of his neighbors’ indi- the OWRB and are allowed to Pawnee Rural Water Dis- vidual well systems, they do use up to 6 acre-feet of water and changes in their business- of classroom instruction. Ap- happens.” trict No. 7 the same or haul water to their per household per year or 3 In Pawnee County, a group homes. acre-feet per non-household of rural residents outside the town of Morrison teamed up Rural water on the prairie There are more than 900 for non-commercial domestic use, such as gardens. However, OSU scientists develop new test rural water districts and water for anaplasmosis in livestock in 2005 to establish Pawnee all drinking water wells should Rural Water District No. 7. Led systems serving municipalities be drilled by an OWRB licensed by President Jeff Burch, the of less than 10,000 people in well driller. district has exhausted several Oklahoma. Thousands of miles “The amount of surface efforts to obtain rural water of rural water lines run across water a system can permit is with little to no success. When the state, sourced by lakes, based on the calculated annual Burch purchased his Pawnee streams and underground yield of a given lake for a given Livestock producers should examine drought By Alisa Boswell-Gore “The unique thing about this tool is that it assistance programs STILLWATER, Okla. - Oklahoma State Uni- versity scientists have developed a screening is as specific as the polymerase chain reaction in detecting DNA without all the equipment, time or trained personnel needed to determine tool for anaplasmosis in livestock, which has the potential to save producers a lot of time and if cowis positive for anaplasmosis,” said Justin By Donald Stotts and Woods. may be able to take advan- money. Talley, professor and OSU Extension livestock Oklahoma counties with tage of an expansion of the ‘The current industry standard for anaplas- entomologist. STILLWATER, Okla. - cool season pastures that qual- USDA Emergency Assistance Drought conditions have hit ify for LEP assistance are: Bea- for Livestock, Honeybees and mosis detection in cattle, sheep and goats is “The cool thing about this diagnostic test is some Oklahoma livestock pro- ver, Beckham, Carter, Cimar- the cELISA, a diagnostic tool that tells produc- that it can test for the actual species and is more Farm-Raised Fish Program. ers their livestock are infected with a disease. ducers hard, but help may be ron, Custer, Greer, Harmon, specific to how a veterinarian should care for available through U.S. Depart- Jackson, Jefferson, Love, Rog- ‘There is a new feature in which However, the test does not specifically indicate the animals,” he added. “This test can differen- ment of Agriculture assistance er Mills, Texas and Washita. the Agricultural Department anaplasmosis, a bacterial disease transmitted programs for operations that Some counties are only eli- will pay transportation costs through tick bites. This test costs $10 to $15 tiate between species of the Anaplasma genera, depend heavily on forage and gible for certain pasture types for getting hay to livestock de- per blood sample due to an extensive process in- which allows treatment to be more precise.” grazing. such as forage sorghum or an- pendent on grazing, Hagerman volving sending samples to a certified diagnostic ‘Their research on the new screening test was “USDA's Livestock Forage nual crabgrass. said. laboratory. published in Nature Scientific Reports in Au- Program is one with which Producers who feel their “Also, there has been some “For most producers, it is just way too much most Oklahoma producers specific operations are suffer- discussion coming out of money to test for this disease, so many of them gust, and the researchers submitted a patent for should be familiar,” said Amy ing under qualifying drought the screening test last year. Their second piece of Hagerman, Oklahoma State conditions are encouraged to Washington, D.C. about the end up losing 10 to 15 percent of their herd to OSU Ag Research, which highlights the method University Extension agricul- contact their local Oklahoma Wildfire and Hurricane Indem- it because they cannot afford to test them,” said tural and food policy specialist. Farm Service Agency office if nity Program Plus or WHIP Bruce Noden, associate professor and medical/ and success rate of the screening process, is be- “Bligible livestock are grazing FSA personnel haven't already Plus, as it's commonly called,” veterinary entomologist in the OSU Depart- ing reviewed and will be published within the animals that get most of their contacted them, said Rusty she said. “The Plus includes ment of Entomology and Plant Pathology. next few months. net nutritional energy require- Humphrey, Kay County FSA drought provisions.” According to Noden, what he and his col- Noden and Talley said the next step is to find ment from grazing of forage executive director. There was a WHIP expan- leagues have developed is a test strip, much like an industry partner to further facilitate work on. grasses or legumes. Drought “Por example, Kay County a pregnancy test, that is intended to act as a pre- statistics dictate eligibility re- is looking rough but our specif- sion in 2019 and 2020 to in- screening tool for anaplasmosis. the diagnostic tool, so it can eventually be avail- quirements and payment lev- ic drought conditions haven't clude drought payments. There “The point is to have a field test that a veteri- able to veterinarians working with food animal els.” triggered eligibility yet, and is some potential for that to In addition to beef and they may not,” he said. “If a be reauthorized for this year’s narian can just drop a blood sample into and see producers. dairy cattle, LEP eligible spe- producer has doubts about eli- drought conditions, as well as if there are cases going on in the herd,” Noden “Anytime you can make a veterinarian’s cies include alpacas, buffalo, gibility, just call.” said. “A producer uses this for screening, andifa job easier, especially at the point-of-care, then for the effects of the polar vor- bison, beefalo, deer, elk, emus, Drought conditions contin- sample is positive, they can send it off for cELI- it allows them to make decisions that help the tex that caused extremely cold goats, horses, llamas, reindeer ue to evolve, so more counties and harsh weather conditions SA confirmation. So, rather than having to test producer before good cows die,” Talley said. and sheep. Hagerman recent- may become eligible. your whole herd with cBLISA, you only have to ly shared additional insights “Most of southeastern and back in February. test two or three cows. The whole point is trying “Oklahoma cattle producers are constantly deal- about drought assistance pro- southwestern Oklahoma re- “USDA hasn't made any to reduce the cost.” ing with anaplasmosis, and this disease targets grams on the agricultural tele- ceived abundant rainfall this announcements about WHIP Noden and Francisco Ochoa Corona, a pro- animals that have a lot of investment from the vision show SUNUP. summer,” said Wes Lee, OSU Plus as yet, but it’s something fessor of entomology and plant pathology and As of Oct. 5, Oklahoma Extension agricultural special- to keep on the radar,” Hager- producer. Ifa veterinarian can help assist those diagnostics specialist, said their screening pro- producers in a more specific and timely manner, counties with warm season ist with the Oklahoma Meson- man said. pastures that qualify for LEP et. “Northwestern and east- cess has been successful in showing livestock to it can limit the impact of this disease.” ‘The USDA provides online be positive or negative for anaplasmosis, specifi- assistance are: Beaver, Caddo, central portions of the state OSU Ag Research is Oklahoma’s premier re- Canadian, Cimarron, Creek, received the least amount of resources to help farmers and cally in serum samples. The cELISA test detects Grady, Harper, Hughes, Kiowa, rainfall. Hopefully, this fall will ranchers stay abreast of its lat- a protein, but Noden and Corona’s screening search and technology development agency in Noble, Okfuskee, Okmulgee, bring needed moisture.” est agricultural assistance in- process identifies the actual DNA of the ana- agriculture, natural resources and the life sci- Osage, Pawnee, Tulsa, Washita Some livestock producers formation. plasmosis pathogen. ences.