Oklahoma Green Schools Program
Water Investigation
Training Workshop
These Investigations each explore a specific issue which is impacted by human decisions, but
each is also part of a larger system. If you choose to investigate water usage at your school,
please consider using the map at the beginning of the School Site Investigation to map, not only
the usage of water that is delivered to your school through pipes, but also the water from rain or
snow. The map and the following questions may help you expand Items B.4 and B.5 for further
discussion:
Where are the storm sewer grates on your school site?
Where does water pond during and after a storm?
Is this a place you would want water to soak in?
Estimate how much water runs off after a storm.
Let’s use the website listed in A.1. of the Water Investigation (p.8). Enter a zip code such as
73112. Write the number next to the name of your watershed ______________. This is the
Hydrologic Unit Code. All of Oklahoma is in the 11th Region called the Arkansas-White-Red.
You will recognize the Arkansas and Red Rivers. The White River is in eastern Arkansas.
These watersheds form the boundaries of our Region. For a list of what the other numbers
represent you can enter “Hydrologic Unit Code” into your browser. The maps of the watersheds
on this website can be informative. If you are a high school teacher and wish to delve more
deeply into hydrology there is a lot of data to be accessed; however, some knowledge of
hydrology would be required. Generally speaking, the EPA website listed for this question you
may find it a little daunting to explore.
The following websites might help with Section A. Questions 1 through 8 of the Water
Investigation (page 8):
For general knowledge about aquifers, ground water, and surface water, access the following
websites:
Oklahoma Water Resources Board
http://www.owrb.ok.gov
Along with information about the Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plan and many interactive
maps, there is an exhaustive list of reports you might find interesting. You will find a list of the
most helpful sites at the top center of the homepage. Then if you click on “surface water” under
the “technical studies” label on the left side of the homepage, you will find some supplemental
information for the A.1 section you were working on above at the EPA site including
information on the Red River watershed and the Arkansas River watershed. Also if you click on
“ground water” under the “technical studies” label on the left side of the home page, you will
find an explanation of aquifers and ground water, along with a clickable list of aquifers around
the state.
http://www.owrb.ok.gov/studies/reports/reports.php
If you click on the “reports” label under the “technical studies” label on the left side of the home
page, it will take you to the above website where you will find a long list of reports. Scroll down
to the “General Publications” category. The second listing is “Water Use in Oklahoma 19502005.” You can download this to your computer in pdf form. Although this is a long
publications, it is full of pie charts and maps that would be comprehensible to young students
concerning water usage in the State of Oklahoma. You might find the report immediately above
this one (“Hydrologic Drought of Water Year 2011: A Historical Context”) timely as it discusses
the recent drought.
To help answer Section A. Question 8, access the following websites:
The City of Oklahoma City Utilities Section
http://www.okc.gov/utilities
Click on “Download the 2013 Consumer Confidence Report (pdf)” on the left side of this
utilities page or you may access it directly with the following hyperlink:
http://www.okc.gov/CCR_2013.pdf.
On the second page of this publication, you will find information that will help you fill out the
table on page 9.
Unfortunately this information is only beneficial for residents of Oklahoma City, however,
utilities are responsible for collecting this kind of information and it should be readily available
in your area, if not on the internet, most certainly in the utility office.
Below this hyperlink is a Squeeze Every Drop hyperlink. This website will give you a lot of
useful information including a large list of water conservation videos.
If you have questions I may be able to help you with, my email address is blandon@okcu.edu.