City Announces New Plan to Protect Drinking Water During Source Water Protection Week

City Announces New Plan to Protect Drinking Water During Source Water Protection Week

10/2/2026

City Announces New Plan to Protect Drinking Water During Source Water Protection Week

The City of Tulsa is developing a new Source Water Protection Plan to help safeguard the Eucha-Spavinaw Watershed, the source of drinking water for Tulsa and the communities we serve.

The plan will establish a long-term roadmap for protecting water quality in and around Lakes Eucha and Spavinaw before water reaches the Mohawk Treatment Plant. By addressing potential pollution at its source, the plan will help support the reliability and quality of the water residents use every day for drinking, cooking, bathing, and more.

The plan comes as the City celebrates Source Water Protection Week from Sept. 25-Oct. 3, highlighting both the new plan and the work already underway to protect the watershed. That effort includes collaboration with a broad group of partners, analysis of between 7,500 and 10,000 water samples annually, and ongoing conservation work throughout the Eucha-Spavinaw watershed.

Once complete, the plan will guide efforts to maintain a reliable supply of high-quality drinking water for decades. It will also help identify ways watershed residents can reduce pollutants entering storm drains, creeks, and other waterways that flow into the watershed.

"Most people probably don't think about where their water comes from when they turn on the faucet, and that's understandable. They expect it to be there and to be safe," Water and Sewer Director Eric Lee said. "That reliability starts with protecting the water at its source. The City of Tulsa and the Tulsa Metropolitan Utility Authority (TMUA) have been doing that work for more than a century, and we're continuing to plan for the next 100 years."

Why Source Water Protection Matters
Protecting source water helps reduce pollution before it ever reaches a drinking water treatment plant.

That matters because what happens on the land around lakes, streams, and watersheds can eventually affect the water itself. Rain can carry fertilizer, chemicals, oil, pet waste, and other pollutants into storm drains, creeks, and waterways.

For Tulsa's drinking water supply, that work is especially important in the Eucha-Spavinaw watershed in northeast Oklahoma, where the City works with landowners, communities, and other partners to protect the lakes and streams that supply Tulsa's drinking water.

Tulsa residents can support the same principle closer to home by helping protect local creeks, streams, and waterways. While stormwater runoff within Tulsa does not flow to Lakes Eucha and Spavinaw, keeping pollutants out of local waterways helps protect water quality for communities and ecosystems downstream.

Simple actions include:

• Use lawn fertilizer and other yard chemicals only as directed and avoid applying them before heavy rain.
• Never pour motor oil, paint, household chemicals, or medications onto the ground or into a storm drain.
• Pick up pet waste and dispose of it properly.
• Keep leaves, grass clippings, and other yard debris out of streets and storm drains.
• Fix leaking vehicles so oil and other fluids are not washed into waterways.
• Remember that storm drains generally carry rainwater directly to local waterways, so only rain should go down the drain.

Residents can learn more about protecting Tulsa's local waterways through the City's Stormwater Quality and Save Our Streams programs; visit: www.cityoftulsa.org/sos

"Source water protection can sound like something that only happens at a lake or treatment facility, but protecting water quality is something all communities have a role in," Lee said. "In the Eucha-Spavinaw watershed, that means protecting the land and waterways that feed Tulsa's drinking-water supply. Here in Tulsa, the same everyday practices help protect our local streams and the communities downstream from us."

Tulsa's source water protection program has earned national recognition. In 2019, the City received the Exemplary Source Water Protection Award from the American Water Works Association.

City biologists, chemists, and data analysts also collect and analyze between 7,500 and 10,000 water samples each year from the Eucha-Spavinaw lake system to monitor conditions and help protect water quality.

The City of Tulsa and TMUA also invest in conservation efforts throughout the watershed. That includes working with landowners who use best management practices to reduce nutrient runoff and protecting natural land around water-supply lakes from development that could negatively affect water quality.

Tulsa has invested in conservation easements protecting more than 5,150 acres in the Eucha-Spavinaw watershed.

Together, monitoring, conservation, long-term planning, responsible practices within the Eucha-Spavinaw watershed, and efforts to protect local waterways all contribute to the broader goal of protecting water quality for communities today and for generations to come.

About Source Water
Source water is the raw, untreated water that eventually becomes drinking water. It can come from lakes, rivers, streams, or groundwater.

Source water protection focuses on keeping those water sources and the surrounding land healthy before the water reaches a treatment plant.

For more information about Tulsa's water supply and source water protection efforts, visit: www.cityoftulsa.org/watersupply