Groundwater in the News

July 15, 2025

Crude oil spills — and gasoline, diesel and motor oil spills — can have a long shelf life, 33 years in this case. The pollution recently bubbled to the surface of the public record, although the extent of the spill, and the kind of petroleum product it was, could not be determined.

Kayla Branch, The Frontier

June 22, 2025

Efforts to more accurately track commercial groundwater use in Oklahoma failed again this year at the Legislature after facing tight deadlines and some pushback from agricultural interests. 

by Em Luetkemeyer

May 22, 2025

The Trump administration’s proposed budget cuts billions in Environmental Protection Agency funds, but Rep. Tom Cole, the top appropriator in the House, doesn’t want environmental research in his district to become collateral damage.

The Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday that it plans to weaken limits on some “forever chemicals” in drinking water that were finalized last year, while maintaining standards for two common ones.

Doyle Rice and Jana Hayes, The Oklahoman

May 9, 2025

KOSU | By Graycen Wheeler

Published April 24, 2025 at 4:59 AM CDT

Oklahomans get more than half the water they use from aquifers. But the same areas that hold those underground water supplies are also sprinkled with orphan oil wells.

Author: Breanna Barker, Oklahoma Water Resources Center

April 08, 2025

The Oklahoma Well Owner Network program, offered through Oklahoma State University Extension and OSU’s Oklahoma Water Resources Center, will host a “Get Well-Informed” free well water testing event for residents in 11 counties across southeast Oklahoma this spring.

Author: Dr. Christine Pappas, East Central University

April 4, 2025 

The Environmental Protection Agency has long been a favorite target of the budget knife, but a new looming threat is different in magnitude and impact.

For those curious why many state resources and agricultural leaders are expressing growing concerns about groundwater depletion in Oklahoma and other states in the Midwest, a recent detailed explanation was offered by Oklahoma Water Resources Center Director Dr. Kevin Wagner. 

Author: Dale Denwalt, The Oklahoman - ddenwalt@oklahoman.com

The Environmental Protection Agency has released the latest data collected on "forever chemicals" found in public water supplies across the nation.