The OWRB administers Oklahoma's Beneficial Use Monitoring Program (BUMP) to ensure the best data are available to assist decision makers in managing, protecting, and improving Oklahoma’s water resources. Physical, chemical, and biological data provided by the program help identify waters experiencing impairments as well as the cause of declining water quality.
Approximately 130 lakes are monitored on a quarterly basis utilizing a five-year rotation schedule, allowing for long-term assessment of beneficial uses and water quality trends. Generally, lakes are sampled at 3-5 stations in order to be representative of the riverine, transitional and lacustrine zones of the waterbody. On many reservoirs, additional sites are monitored, including major arms of the reservoir as appropriate.
Monitoring sites and data can be found in the map below.
Approximately 50 river and stream sites are monitored annually on a quarterly basis across the state. Data collected at the sites are important indicators for determining compliance with water quality standards, tracking general water quality trends, and identifying pollution problems, as well as providing stream flow data critical for water supply planning and early flood warnings.
Monitoring sites and data can be found in the map below.
Groundwater sampling is conducted on a network of approximately 750 wells in Oklahoma's 21 major aquifers. Sampling occurs in both a baseline monitoring network and a long-term (trend) monitoring network within each major aquifer. Multiple assessments of water levels and chemistry facilitate the recognition of seasonal changes, changes due to climate variability, and/or changes due to usage over time. Additionally, a select number of wells are equipped with water level data loggers to monitor changes on the scale of weeks, days, or even hours.
