Tulsa celebrates completion of historic Spavenau water system providing clean water to 650000 residents

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

The Tulsa City Council meeting on January 1, 2025, focused on the historical significance and ongoing impact of the Spavenau water supply project, which began in 1924. The meeting highlighted the ambitious infrastructure initiative aimed at providing clean and reliable water to the city, a necessity that arose from the poor quality of water sourced from springs, wells, and the Arkansas River in the early 1900s.

Council members discussed the origins of the project, noting that in 1908, a group of influential Tulsans discovered Spavenau Creek, a crystal-clear spring-fed stream, during a hunting trip. This discovery led to the hiring of civil engineer W.R. Hallway in 1921 to assess the feasibility of transporting water from Spavenau Creek to Tulsa via gravity flow. His positive report prompted citizens to overwhelmingly approve a $6.8 million bond issue to fund the project.

Construction of the Spavenau water system took two years and cost approximately $7.5 million. The resulting Spavenau Dam, which is two-thirds of a mile long and five stories high, impounds over 8.5 billion gallons of water in Spavenau Lake. The water flows by gravity to Tulsa, located 54 miles away, through what was then the longest raw water line in the United States.

On November 17, 1924, the completion of the Spavenau water system was celebrated by Tulsans, who raised glasses of clean water in a toast. The project not only provided a vital resource for the city but also marked a significant milestone in Tulsa's development, as noted by the Tulsa World at the time, stating that while oil had built the city, Spavenau water would shape its future.

Today, the city continues to benefit from this historic project, supplying an average of 105 million gallons of award-winning water daily to over 650,000 customers in the Tulsa Metropolitan area. The council emphasized the ongoing importance of this water supply, reflecting on the community's daily reliance on this essential resource.

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