Agriculture producers should not be forced to go thirsty in order to meet the water needs of the growing urban population is the message Oklahoma Farm Bureau president Steve Kouplen will deliver Aug. 14 at a regional water conference in Austin, Tex.
"Water 2025: Preventing Crises and Conflict in the West" is the last of eight regional conferences sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Interior. The goal of the conferences is to develop solutions to chronic water supply problems.
"Our biggest concern is that agriculture will take a back seat to recreation when water usage decisions are made," Kouplen says.
The Beggs, Okla., rancher divides the issue into three categories: water ownership, who can sell the water and sacrificing property rights when saving water for endangered species.
"Private property rights, including groundwater ownership, is one of the cornerstones of Farm Bureau beliefs," Kouplen says. He cites the example of a current debate in southwest Oklahoma where farmers are struggling to fend off attempts by a local community group, with support from the Sierra Club, to make recreational and wildlife preservation a higher priority than agriculture.
"We strongly support using water storage structures for the purpose for which they were built," Kouplen says, referring to the Lugert-Altus Lake conflict. The lake was expanded 60 years ago in a farmer-funded project to irrigate crops in a multi-county area. Today the water is being coveted by non-agriculture interests.
Kouplen also stresses the need for relief from the critical habitat designations under the Endangered Species Act.
"These federal designations are bottling up valuable resources and frustrate rather than allay our water concerns."
The Farm Bureau leader notes the farm organization has spearheaded efforts in the Oklahoma Legislature to stop the movement and sale of water outside of Oklahoma.
"Oklahoma must decide how it will provide water for future needs before one drop is sold out of state," Kouplen says.
Many of Oklahoma’s 39 federally recognized tribal nations are attempting to claim water ownership by applying to the EPA for administering their own water quality standards.
"We’re already heavily regulated by local, state and federal governments," Kouplen says. "We do not want more regulation from an additional 39 separate governments."
