About the Association
The Lake O’ The Cherokees Sub-watershed Association (LOTCSWA) is comprised of a group of citizens whose mission is to protect and improve water quality through collaborative adoption of best management practices that will promote the health, safety and economic prosperity of the Lake O’ The Cherokees Sub-Watershed Basin region.
The goal is to provide a framework for collaborative efforts of stakeholders that, with state agency and tribal input, will develop a watershed plan that provides the impetus for broad adoption of best management practices within the watershed. These practices will address the impairments within the watershed including excess nutrients and sedimentation. Some of the best management practices that LOTCSWA will work to help implement include riparian fencing, help with septic tank replacement and education, outreach and information on programs that have available monies to help install best management practices.
HISTORY AND CREATION OF THE ASSOCIATION
The Grand Lake Watershed Alliance Foundation (GLWAF) was established in 2007 to create a voice for the entire four-state Grand Lake Watershed (GLW), the establishment of sub-watershed stakeholder groups was identified as an objective in the Grand Lake Watershed Plan (GLWAF 2008). GLWAF saw an opportunity through the Bureau of Reclamation WaterSmart grant program to fulfill one of its goals, improving water quality through citizen-based watershed groups. The Lake O’ The Cherokees Sub-Watershed Association (LOTCSWA) was founded, as a result of receiving a WaterSmart grant, to develop and maintain a self-sustaining citizen-based watershed group to identify, evaluate, and resolve water quality issues within the Lake Sub-Watershed.
The LOTCSWA will promote the sustainable use of the Sub-Watershed’s resources and further cooperation between and among the members, stakeholders, and communities surrounding Grand Lake. The role of LOTCSWA is to facilitate solutions to complex water issues and thus, reduce conflict, which include the implementation of Best Management Practices (BMPs) to address nonpoint source pollution. The BMPs are evaluated for alignment with impairment sources (such as pollutants that make the water cloudy and cause the loss of oxygen) in the LOTCSWA, and further assessed on cost effectiveness and acceptance / ability to implement, to create a prioritized list of actions that will result in improved water quality in LOTC.
WATER QUALITY IMPAIRMENTS SUMMARY
The impairments that are addressable by the LOTCSWA were identified from the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality’s Integrated Report, Appendix C – 303(d) Impairments. The most common impairments are low dissolved oxygen, bacteria, turbidity and total dissolved solids. Other impairments, such as lead, generally come from the tri-state mining district which is an EPA superfund site. The plan does not include BMPs to address those pollutants as several tribal, state and federal agencies are addressing those issues. However, it is likely that the BMPs installed to address nutrient loading, such as riparian area protection can, as a secondary benefit, remove some additional heavy metals from the watershed.
ECONOMIC IMPACT OF POOR WATER QUALITY
When water quality is impaired, it can cause economic drain due to both cost of remediation and loss of reputation leading to less tourism. Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) events and associated advisories or warnings can impact local economies that rely on water-based tourism and recreation. A 2015 survey of visitors at Grand Lake O’ The Cherokees confirmed that warnings are disruptive to trip planning. When asked if they would have made their current trip to the lake if a “no bodily contact” warning was issued just prior to visiting, 25 percent of visitors said they would not have made the trip. Of those who would not, nearly 20 percent indicated they would not make up the trip at a later date.
The lake serves as the main source of water for several communities and other water users. When water quality decreases in the lake, treatment costs increase. The impairments in the lake associated with excess nutrients and bacteria can strain water treatment infrastructure and can result in increased complaints of taste and odor issues.