Water well

Inside Tinker’s water well No. 30 housing near the picnic area, operator Keith Lawrence, 72nd Air Base Wing Civil Engineer Directorate, tests for chlorine and pH and adjusts as necessary. Twelve of the 22 base wells are active now, some of which were installed as early as the 1940s. The lingering hot summer spikes usage; July topped at nearly 87 million gallons a month. Though wells save Tinker money over the cost of buying water off base, users are reminded to conserve resources. (Air Force photos by Margo Wright)

Officials encourage base personnel, residents to practice water conservation

Published Aug. 29, 2011
By Brandice J. O'Brien
Tinker Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- As temperatures soared to new heights and beat old records this summer, much of the Oklahoma City metro was under a drought watch. Many at Tinker wondered if a potential water shortage applied here too.

Yet, while Tinker is under no risk of a water shortage as it pulls its water from several wells on base, officials said this is a perfect time to practice conservation.

"Our main concern is just being good stewards of our resources; it's the right thing to do and we want to do that all the time, regardless of what's going on outside the fence," said Thomas "Grif" Griffith, base civil engineer for the 72nd Air Base Wing Civil Engineer Directorate. "We always want to be mindful of being good stewards of the environment, the government's resources and our taxpayers' dollars."

The best way to conserve water is to be mindful of usage. Tinker practices this by using water where it's only necessary and Mr. Griffith said outside of the golf course and housing community, the base's property is not irrigated.

Because lawns are often watered by their residents, Mr. Griffith said to do it when it's necessary and don't overwater lawns. Running the water for 20 minutes should be sufficient. Also, aim the sprinkler at the lawn versus the street or sidewalk and don't water when it's windy. Furthermore, avoid watering in the middle of the day when the water acts as a prism and will actually burn the yard.

"If you have mushrooms growing, it's plenty moist," Mr. Griffith said. "But, if you're walking out and your lawn is crunching, then yes, it needs water."

Patti Osburn, community manager for Balfour Beatty Communities, agreed.

She said the best times to water are ideally between 4 and 7 a.m. or between 4 and 10 p.m. Ms. Osburn also said residents are not permitted to wash their cars in their driveways; use the designated spot at the base auto hobby shop.

"Be conscientious of your usage even though the wells are not in jeopardy at this time," she said. "We don't want to use up a good natural resource."

In the past three months, Tinker has used approximately 232-million gallons of water, which comes from wells that range from 400 to 800 feet deep.