Company’s water use restricted

The Oklahoma Water Resources Board voted Tuesday to restrict a Texas drilling company’s water use to 274 acre-feet per year from the Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer.

City requests water to replenish supply
Proposed order before the Oklahoma Water Resources Board
The Arbuckle-Simpson Hydrology Study

The amount represents about 89 million gallons annually — less than one-fifth the amount that Meridian Aggregates sought to wash rock drilled at a Johnston County quarry.

Opponents of the company’s request hailed the board’s 8-0 vote as a victory.

“It was a welcome ruling,” said Bob Donaho, a ranch owner near Davis and vice president of Citizens for the Protection of the Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer.

The water board approved a 32-page recommendation by an agency employee who oversaw a nine-day hearing concerning the company’s request.

Some observers called that hearing one of the longest and most contentious in water board history.

Several south-central towns and cities supplied by the aquifer opposed the permit.

The company sought the groundwater permit as a supplemental source for cleaning rock used in Texas road construction projects. It already has a permit to take up to 1,425 acre-feet per year from Mill Creek.

John Griffin, an attorney for Meridian Aggregates, said he was pleased that a permit was granted, although not with the amount of water.

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