North Tulsa Today

The Bartlesville City Council is expected to consider modifications to the Water Storage Ordinance and a resolution to enact the emergency water rate provisions of the Water Shortage Ordinance during its April 3 meeting.

Boiled down, that means your water bill could be higher next month, splash pads could be closed this summer, and restrictions could be placed on outdoor watering.

“The council will consider proposed ordinance modifications that will better define and update measures outlined in the Drought Contingency Plan, which was written following the drought we experienced in 2002,” said Water Utilities Director Terry Lauritsen. “Staff is still working on those updates, but we anticipate having them ready for council consideration later this week.”

Proposed measures include:

• Increased water rates
• Restrictions on outdoor watering
• Splash pad closures

“Unfortunately, increased water rates have been shown to have the most significant impact on reduction of water consumption,” Lauritsen said. “We will propose increased rates for higher use, which is intended to discourage excessive consumption.”

Lauritsen said any money collected as a result of the increased rates will be allocated for improvements to the water system and/or conservation efforts in the future.

Bartlesville is currently in Phase 2 of the Drought Contingency Plan, based on water supply falling between 70 and 60 percent. The City launched a public awareness campaign in December 2022, when levels had reached 71 percent. Since then, overall water supply levels have fallen each week, reaching 61.8 percent last week.

Some measures already implemented to reduce consumption include the City discontinuing water use for its fleet (with the exception of sanitation vehicles) and non-essential operational uses, altering watering of parks and golf courses, notification to wholesale customers, and public education.

If these and other measures to be considered by the City Council on Monday fail and supply continues to decline to “critical” levels, or below 50 percent, rates could go even higher, outdoor watering could eventually be eliminated altogether, and City-owned swimming pools could be closed this summer.

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