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Figure 1. The Antlers Aquifer (grey) in southern Oklahoma (Hart and Davis, 1981).
Throughout the state of Oklahoma lay several aquifers. The uses of these aquifers ranges from industrial, domestic, public, and agricultural purposes (Hart and Davis, 1981). The Antlers aquifer is located in the southeastern part of the state and serves as a source of water for 9 Oklahoma counties. The Aquifer runs parallel to the Red River and lies mostly within Oklahoma, although it does extend roughly 25 miles into Texas (Morton, 1992). Antlers covers 4400 sq. miles within Oklahoma and stretches 50 miles north-south and 175 miles east-west, shown above in Figure 1. The Antlers aquifer is recharged through 3 processes: Rainfall, lakes and rivers (like the Red River) that lay over the aquifer, and groundwater movement from other aquifers. Precipitation and and surface water infiltration have a much greater influence on recharge than the movement of water from other groundwater sources (Hart And Davis, 1981). The total annual recharge ranges from 0.32-0.96 inches (Morton, 1992).
Figure 2. Average precipitation in Oklahoma (worldatlas).
The precipitation for the Antlers aquifer region varies from east to west (Figure 2). The eastern region of the aquifer receive an average rain/snowfall of 50 inches while the western reaches of Antlers receives 34 inches. This is primarily due to the eastern end of the aquifer being located close to the Gulf Coast (worldatlas).
Figure 3. Surface water distribution in Oklahoma (OWRB, Lower Washita Regional Report, 2012).
The surface water that covers the Antlers aquifer and serve as sources of recharge involves many lakes and rivers (Figure 3). Two major sources are Lake Murray, Lake Texoma, and the Washita River (OWRB, Lower Washita Regional Report, 2012). To the west, few large bodies of water cover the Antlers aquifer. The largest bodies of water include the Blue River and Clear Boggy Creek (OWRB, Blue-Boggy Regional Report, 2012).
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