Surface Water Management

The Association of Central Oklahoma Governments is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designated regional 208 water quality management agency. As such, the agency reviews discharge allocations for municipalities and performs surface water quality modeling. Project activities include regional sampling of water bodies for total maximum daily load (TMDL) estimations.

Local governments typically request technical assistance on topics such as sewage effluent standards for NPDES permits and water treatment analyses. The state of Oklahoma requires regulation of municipalities and industry that discharge effluent into a stream. This regulatory structure is the state 208 plan. ACOG has the delegated responsibility for executing this plan in Central Oklahoma. Division staff maintains and updates the ACOG 208 Water Quality Management Plan. Technical assistance that the staff offers to municipalities under the 208 plan includes surface water quality modeling. This modeling determines the most cost efficient effluent quality for a sewage treatment plant facility meeting stringent state and federal water regulations. Also, in accordance with the new federal policy to approach pollution on a watershed basis, the Division examines non-point sources of pollution in the Central Oklahoma region.