Tulsa celebrates 100 years of Spavenau Water Project transforming city’s water supply

This article was created by AI using a video recording of the meeting. It summarizes the key points discussed, but for full details and context, please refer to the video of the full meeting. Link to Full Meeting

In the heart of Tulsa, a century ago, a transformative project began that would shape the city’s future. The SPAVENA Water Project, launched in 1924, aimed to provide clean and reliable water to a community that had relied on springs, wells, and the murky waters of the Arkansas River. The conditions were far from ideal; locals often joked that after a bath, they needed to dust off the residue left behind.

The journey to cleaner water began during a hunting trip in 1908 when a group of influential Tulsans discovered the pristine Spavenagh Creek. Fast forward to the summer of 1921, when the city water commission enlisted the expertise of 28-year-old civil engineer W. R. Hallway. His surveys confirmed that the crystal-clear waters of Spavenagh Creek could be transported to Tulsa through gravity flow. This revelation sparked a wave of enthusiasm among residents, leading to the passage of a $6.8 million bond issue to fund the ambitious project.

Construction of the Spavenau Water Supply Project was no small feat. Over two years, workers built what would become one of the largest water projects in the nation, at a cost of $7.5 million. The centerpiece, Spavenau Lake, now holds over 8.5 billion gallons of water, making it the largest lake in Oklahoma at the time. The water flows 54 miles to Tulsa, traversing rivers, creeks, and even tunneling through a towering ridge, all while maintaining a gentle drop in elevation.

On November 17, 1924, the completion of the Spavenau water system was celebrated with a toast of clean water, marking a significant milestone for the city. Hallway’s legacy was further immortalized when the mayor floated his final paycheck through the newly constructed flow line, a symbolic gesture of the project’s success.

Today, the city of Tulsa continues to benefit from this monumental achievement, providing an average of 105 million gallons of award-winning water daily to over 650,000 residents. As the Tulsa World noted back in 1924, while oil may have built the city, it is the Spavenau Water that will sustain its future. The echoes of that need for clean water resonate still, as the community thrives on the foundation laid by those visionary leaders a century ago.

Converted from Tulsa - Regular Council Meeting - Jan 01, 2025 meeting on January 01, 2025
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