About Your Tap Water

We serve more than 1.5 million people across Central Oklahoma.

More than 1.5 million people in 17 different communities and rural water districts throughout Oklahoma are served through our water, wastewater and trash services programs. Raw water is sourced from five individual supply reservoirs that span nearly 250 miles from northwest to southeast Oklahoma. They include the Hefner and Stanley Draper Reservoirs in Oklahoma City, the Canton Reservoir in northwest Oklahoma, and the Atoka, McGee Creek and Sardis Reservoirs in southeast Oklahoma. Water is treated at our two water treatment plants in Oklahoma City before being distributed to residential and commercial retail, wholesale and industrial customers. We also manage four wastewater treatment plants and provide trash and recycling services to customers in Oklahoma City.

Management of our operations and capital programs is guided by the Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust, which meets two times per month in Oklahoma City. We also partner with the Atoka Reservation Association and McGee Creek Authority to oversee the administration, management and maintenance of the water supplies at our facilities in southeast Oklahoma. Primary funding for the Utility comes from ratepayer revenues as sourced through the fees charged for our services. We do not receive any funding from the City's General Fund, which comes from local sales tax revenues. Visit the City's budget page to see a copy of our Utilities budget.

Our storied history

Oklahoma City has a long history of investing wisely in its water system. Our search for water began two months after the Land Run of 1889, and it hasn’t stopped. As pioneers staked their claim to start a new city, the water supply came by way of a single well. It wasn’t long before more wells were drilled and in 1908, the City built more wells, and some pipe to transport water to a growing population. But the wells often went dry, especially during the summer when life-sustaining water is most critical.

By 1910, City leaders began work on a water supply lake to ensure its 35,000 residents would always have water. The result was the building of the Lake Overholser Dam, which was built, as the former Mayor Overholser once said was to "settle for all time the water problem which had faced Oklahoma City for several years." More than 10,000 people attended the dam's opening on April 22, 1918 and still serves the community today. 

In the 1930s, the state suffered the worst droughts and floods in recorded history, so to manage continued growth, City leaders approved the construction of Lake Hefner. But due to the need to supply steel and manpower for the country's efforts during World War II, construction halted until the war was over. Lake Hefner was completed in 1947, and the Hefner water treatment plant went into operation shortly thereafter. As Lake Hefner was being built, City leaders were already creating long-range plans for water supply.

In 1961, with a population of 324,000, the City undertook a $62 million project to bring water from 100 miles away. We bought land and built Lakes Atoka and Draper, a 100-mile pipeline, six pump stations, a water treatment plant and transmission lines to deliver tap water to Oklahoma City residents. City leaders celebrated the completion of the Atoka pipeline with a connection ceremony in 1962. 

A water supply study completed in 2009 estimates central Oklahoma’s water needs will double to 316 million gallons a day by 2060.

In June 2010, the Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust contracted for water storage rights in Lake Sardis. The City has applied for a water use permit for water from Lake Sardis and the Kiamichi River. With that additional water supply from Lake Sardis, the city will be able to provide domestic water to about one-third of all Oklahomans for the next 60 years.