Oklahoma's 50-year water plan draws criticism from lawmakers

State Rep. Brian Renegar, D-Blanco, said lawmakers also believe the study of aquifers in the water plan was incomplete. He said that was unacceptable in a state where many people live in areas where aquifers are the sole source of water.

The lawmakers also question whether an engineering firm that did a lot of work for the state water plan had a conflict of interest.

CDM, a Massachusetts-based engineering firm, had an $850,000 contract with the Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust and other central Oklahoma water trusts to study obtaining and pumping in water from Sardis Lake in southeastern Oklahoma. At the same time, CDM was being paid millions of dollars for what was supposed to be unbiased work on the 50-year water plan that included trying to determine whether there was surplus water available in southeastern Oklahoma for sale to places like Oklahoma City or Texas, legislative critics said.

“We've got some legitimate concerns about that,” said state Sen. Richard Lerblance, D-Hartshorne.

Cannaday, Lerblance, Renegar and state Sen. Jerry Ellis, D-Valliant, have requested an attorney general's opinion on whether CDM had a conflict of interest and whether the draft 50-year water plans fails to comply with a legislative mandate to consider all uses of water.

The request for an attorney general's opinion is under review, said Diane Clay, spokeswoman for the agency.

J.D. Strong, executive director of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, said he is a little perplexed by the lawmakers' complaints about the study that was overseen by his agency.