Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer as a Water Resource

The Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer is designated as a sole source aquifer by the EPA as it provides over half of the drinking water for 150,000 people (OWRB, Citizens for the Protection of The Arbuckle Simpson Aquifer, 2012). Southern Oklahoma is home to many activities, such as mining, fracking, and agriculture, that consume large amounts of water. The amount of water that is used for each of these activities can be seen in Figure 12. These interests have led to problems for the aquifer as it is not able to replenish fast enough to keep up with the amount of water being used. This had led to pumping limits being set forth through state legislature. The Oklahoma Water Resources Board conducted a study to determine the amount of water that could be used without threatening the life of the aquifer. The timeline of this study can be followed in Figure 13. This limit was found to be approximately 65,000 gallons per acre and is now the maximum amount of water that can be allocated (Layden, 2015).