Yesterday, KFOR ran a story on Canton Lake. At the end of the story, Ed Donley said the OKCWT said they had a two year water supply. That statement was blatantly false or totally incorrect for those dependent on Hefner for their water supply. Hefner has approx 20,000 acre/ft of water. OKC uses 1 to 1 1/2 acre/ft per week (depending on the time of year, evaporation/etc). Without rain, OKC has 3 to 5 months of water available in Hefner.

Wouldn't it be better to start conserving some water now, and avoid an extreme situation later?

No.

oh boy, another thread on Canton lake to keep the conversation going. The lake was built with the purpose to serve other water needs, not for the city. If the people of Canton want to act entitled, then fence off the entire lake and do NOT let anyone on or near it even when it is full.

Regardless of the details of the latest K4NewZStory, MY "plan" is for less lawn and more xeriscaping.
Pet Lawns require a lot of water that actual people who like Pet Lawns could be drinking.
I will continue to water the herb garden. On account of I like to cook.
And wash dishes, flush the toilet, etc. =)

I am amazed the City of Oklahoma City still allows new homes to be built with lawns, especially with the existing inventory of single family large lot homes available in the metro area. If I was a the owner of one of the existing single family homes the last thing I would want is more built - especially with 2nd housing collapse coming. They should cut off the creation of new large-lot inventory to protect the existing investments made by 10's of thousands of city residents.

In response to some, my thread was not about Canton, but rather about OKC's situation, especially the last comment made in the story. Those dependent on Canton/Hefner do not have two years of water stored. I have presented the facts about the amount of water stored in Hefner and the amount of water used by those dependent on Hefner.

No.
Why not?

I am amazed the City of Oklahoma City still allows new homes to be built with lawns, especially with the existing inventory of single family large lot homes available in the metro area. If I was a the owner of one of the existing single family homes the last thing I would want is more built - especially with 2nd housing collapse coming. They should cut off the creation of new large-lot inventory to protect the existing investments made by 10's of thousands of city residents.

Hold up thar' jist a minute amigo/pardner . . . Are you sayin' 'r implyin' that the gubmint has some sorta "right" t' interfere wif MY PERSONAL landscapin' ideas? 'r "ideals" as the case may be? We're tawkin' 'bout water here, fer cripes sake . . . Do I really have t' post that thar Eddie Arnold/Sons o' The Pioneers/Roy Rogers/Whomever vid clip t' git the point across? (the "Cool Water" vid clip . . . not that other one =)

"Egad! This redistribution of the wealth is more complicated than it might first appear!"
~Dennis Moore (riding through the glen, and pondering the imponderable)

Yesterday, KFOR ran a story on Canton Lake. At the end of the story, Ed Donley said the OKCWT said they had a two year water supply. That statement was blatantly false or totally incorrect for those dependent on Hefner for their water supply. Hefner has approx 20,000 acre/ft of water. OKC uses 1 to 1 1/2 acre/ft per week (depending on the time of year, evaporation/etc). Without rain, OKC has 3 to 5 months of water available in Hefner.

Wouldn't it be better to start conserving some water now, and avoid an extreme situation later?

I could almost see the phrase two year water supply being chosen for another reason, there are already plans to build a second pipeline to Atoka and some yet to be selected method to Sardis, I am pretty sure that it was expected to take two years to construct. Which if there is only two years the current system can be assured without disruption, it might give an extra political push to starting construction now.

KFOR's reporting could be inaccurate too. Does anyone besides the people in NW Oklahoma watch KFOR?

I could almost see the phrase two year water supply being chosen for another reason, there are already plans to build a second pipeline to Atoka and some yet to be selected method to Sardis, I am pretty sure that it was expected to take two years to construct. Which if there is only two years the current system can be assured without disruption, it might give an extra political push to starting construction now.

Google "Language In Thought and Action" (S. I. Hiakawa) (author spelling optional =)

KFOR's reporting could be inaccurate too. Does anyone besides the people in NW Oklahoma watch KFOR?

I ain't shure . . . does they?

I ain't shure . . . does they?retiny

Conservation is already enacted. Odd/Even restrictions are permanent now - now if people actually follow it, that is on to the city to start fining people.

Forget any part of where Canton is meant to service OKC, let's remember...

http://www.swt-wc.usace.army.mil/images/lakes/CANT.lakepage.gif

If we have a dry Spring up there, there isn't going to be much water on the way down to Hefner when it starts to dry up this summer.

I am amazed the City of Oklahoma City still allows new homes to be built with lawns, especially with the existing inventory of single family large lot homes available in the metro area. If I was a the owner of one of the existing single family homes the last thing I would want is more built - especially with 2nd housing collapse coming. They should cut off the creation of new large-lot inventory to protect the existing investments made by 10's of thousands of city residents.

I would be all in favor of astro turf yards, seeing that I hate mowing.

I would be all in favor of astro turf yards, seeing that I hate mowing.

With the dry conditions and all the wild fires breaking out everybody needs to water their yards pronto! I am gonna let my sprinklers run tonight for several hours and do it again tomorrow.

I would be all in favor of astro turf yards, seeing that I hate mowing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhr2gAQF0LA

With the dry conditions and all the wild fires breaking out everybody needs to water their yards pronto! I am gonna let my sprinklers run tonight for several hours and do it again tomorrow.
Odd/even evidently doesn't mean a lot to some.

That Atoka pipeline won't happen until 2017, and that may just be when it bids (if I'm remembering Marsha Slaughter's presentation on it correctly).

With the dry conditions and all the wild fires breaking out everybody needs to water their yards pronto! I am gonna let my sprinklers run tonight for several hours and do it again tomorrow.

Hopefully this was sarcasm. If not, mind sharing your address so we can have the city come by to see how amazing your yard is? :)

Hopefully this was sarcasm. If not, mind sharing your address so we can have the city come by to see how amazing your yard is? :)what a waste of the taxpayers money.... Taking services away and devoting them to a show of yards now because you are not fond of people that take pride in their yard and water it? I hope your yard is xeriscaped; mine is halfway xeriscaped.

I would be all in favor of astro turf yards, seeing that I hate mowing.

I looked into it a few years ago when we were in our old house with a much smaller yard. Problem was the expense. I was shocked how expensive a typical yard is to convert. But, the quality has gone way up over the years. I saw some around homes in Austin and you could not tell the difference between the fake grass and the real grass.Between the cost of the materials and the prep involved in doing it right - it was WAY out of reach for me.

I looked into it a few years ago when we were in our old house with a much smaller yard. Problem was the expense. I was shocked how expensive a typical yard is to convert. But, the quality has gone way up over the years. I saw some around homes in Austin and you could not tell the difference between the fake grass and the real grass.Between the cost of the materials and the prep involved in doing it right - it was WAY out of reach for me.

I've worked on a couple houses in recent that both opted for turf in the backyard, it didn't hurt that one of the owners sold turf for a living. They both used the same turf that the colleges use on their football field. it looked and felt awesome.

what a waste of the taxpayers money.... Taking services away and devoting them to a show of yards now because you are not fond of people that take pride in their yard and water it? I hope your yard is xeriscaped; mine is halfway xeriscaped.

Not to get off topic, but I've been interested in doing pieces of my yard this way. I have an acre lot so there is no way it's all happening, but I have a couple areas where grass doesn't grow all that well that I've thought about implementing this strategy. You should start a thread that talks about plants used and design elements. I'd be interested.

Not to get off topic, but I've been interested in doing pieces of my yard this way. I have an acre lot so there is no way it's all happening, but I have a couple areas where grass doesn't grow all that well that I've thought about implementing this strategy. You should start a thread that talks about plants used and design elements. I'd be interested.You know what, I just might do that. A little later tonight.... as it will take me a bit to organize it and compile info. I have a toooooooon of tropical plants in pots and ones that I have to burry in the ground and then dig up before winter, and they require a ton of water, so it kind of offsets my water saving xeriscaping, but I am in the market for spending some good money(not too much, but not going the cheap route either) on some rain buckets. I am looking to have a capacity to store around 500-750 gallons of rain water.

what a waste of the taxpayers money.... Taking services away and devoting them to a show of yards now because you are not fond of people that take pride in their yard and water it? I hope your yard is xeriscaped; mine is halfway xeriscaped.

Who said I'm not fond of people that take pride in their yard? I do...quite a bit. However, I also enjoy having water in Summer and adjust my usage to the conservation efforts put in place. There is a reason why Oklahoma City as well as Norman and others have gone to year-round Odd/Even watering schedules. If people feel they are above the law then I see no reason why they shouldn't be charged the additional fines for violating it.

Regardless of the details of the latest K4NewZStory, MY "plan" is for less lawn and more xeriscaping.
Pet Lawns require a lot of water that actual people who like Pet Lawns could be drinking.
I will continue to water the herb garden. On account of I like to cook.
And wash dishes, flush the toilet, etc. =)

Simply forcing the addition of rain and freeze sensors to existing and new lawn sprinkler systems would make a huge difference. And also, what is it with the obsession with short grass in OKC? I have a four inch Bermuda lawn that I keep at my girl's house. All it needs is 10 minutes of water twice a week in the hottest part of the summer.

In response to some, my thread was not about Canton, but rather about OKC's situation, especially the last comment made in the story. Those dependent on Canton/Hefner do not have two years of water stored. I have presented the facts about the amount of water stored in Hefner and the amount of water used by those dependent on Hefner.

If you didn't intend this to be about Canton Lake maybe you shouldn't have put Canton Lake in the title of the thread.

Simply forcing the addition of rain and freeze sensors to existing and new lawn sprinkler systems would make a huge difference. And also, what is it with the obsession with short grass in OKC? I have a four inch Bermuda lawn that I keep at my girl's house. All it needs is 10 minutes of water twice a week in the hottest part of the summer.

Also, people don't condition their yards very well...

From the first sunny day in late winter, early spring, the watering begins. The roots never grow deep, because water is always available to it. By letting the grass grow and seek water on it's own during the spring, by the summer time the roots are much deeper and they are much stronger and use less tap water to stay alive and green.

Also, people don't condition their yards very well...

From the first sunny day in late winter, early spring, the watering begins. The roots never grow deep, because water is always available to it. By letting the grass grow and seek water on it's own during the spring, by the summer time the roots are much deeper and they are much stronger and use less tap water to stay alive and green.That's true in some cases. Others, people just put grass in that have shallow roots and can't tolerate drought very well, but again, that is up to the people to be smart with their lawns. I am all for free market and being able to decide for ourselves what is good, so hopefully people plant the right grass so the city doesn't have to make an ordinance regulating what kinds of grasses are allowed here.

You know what, I just might do that. A little later tonight.... as it will take me a bit to organize it and compile info. I have a toooooooon of tropical plants in pots and ones that I have to burry in the ground and then dig up before winter, and they require a ton of water, so it kind of offsets my water saving xeriscaping, but I am in the market for spending some good money(not too much, but not going the cheap route either) on some rain buckets. I am looking to have a capacity to store around 500-750 gallons of rain water.

This is a more realistic approach. I also love and collect tropical plants in pots. There are a lot of native plants that are low water users - including types of native grasses. But to the point. Water collection in storage cisterns can greatly decrease the demand from the municipal water system. A single thunderstorm can dump hundreds, if not thousands of gallons of water on a average roof in a short period of time. There are several cistern manufactures in Texas. It is time people start being responsible for all aspects of this issue, collecting rain water for later use would have a great impact on the demand.

This is a more realistic approach. I also love and collect tropical plants in pots. There are a lot of native plants that are low water users - including types of native grasses. But to the point. Water collection in storage cisterns can greatly decrease the demand from the municipal water system. A single thunderstorm can dump hundreds, if not thousands of gallons of water on a average roof in a short period of time. There are several cistern manufactures in Texas. It is time people start being responsible for all aspects of this issue, collecting rain water for later use would have a great impact on the demand.

Here is an interesting site: DIY Water Projects -- Catching it, saving it, treating i, ... (http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Water/Water.htm#RainWaterHarvestSystems)

It's been nearly a decade since I had to water (or mow) a yard. But I can tell you if I ever did again I would definitely xeriscape AND catch rain in a cistern. Not because I am some sort of environmental kook, but because it's just so practical, requires less effort/mowing, chemicals, and I could concentrate my YARD efforts into a single really nice patch of grass wherever I chose to locate it. The cistern appeals to me because I would like to not be at the whim of the municipal water system and the related rationing issues, etc.

But truthfully, I don't see a yard in my future anytime soon anyway. If I want to walk barefoot on grass there is always MBG.

Hello law! How are you these days?

Certainly, we are doing our part—not only by relying on days such as this for a well-needed torrent of H2O, but avoiding the use of fertilizers that only suck down the coffers moreso, as it were.

How are things in your neck of the woods?

Canton Lake getting some rain this evening.

Canton Lake getting some rain this evening.

I just checked the radar and the main body of the storm actually tracked southeast of the lake.

I just checked the radar and the main body of the storm actually tracked southeast of the lake.

Really? That lake must be jinxed. It can rain all over the whole state and that Lake gets left out time and time again it seems.

Only some showers here, and not much out west. Not a lot of runoff. The farmers will be happy, but it may already be too late for them. Maybe another chance for rain this weekend.

Hefner was under 56,000 acre feet.

You know what, I just might do that. A little later tonight.... as it will take me a bit to organize it and compile info. I have a toooooooon of tropical plants in pots and ones that I have to burry in the ground and then dig up before winter, and they require a ton of water, so it kind of offsets my water saving xeriscaping, but I am in the market for spending some good money(not too much, but not going the cheap route either) on some rain buckets. I am looking to have a capacity to store around 500-750 gallons of rain water.Haven't forgot about this.... if I get time, I will make a list and start organizing(at least attempting to :p) tomorrow.

Dam construction project criticized as misspending by federal go (http://www.okcfox.com/story/25313665/dam-construction-project-criticized-as-misspending-by-federal-government)

KOKH story about Canton Lake tonight (9:00 p.m.).