For many years, Tulsa has been recognized at the State and Federal level for implementing pioneering approaches to improving water quality. Tulsa has always had an aggressive commitment to infrastructure improvements for raw and treated drinking water as well as collection and treatment of wastewater. Tulsa was the first city in the Nation to obtain a Phase I Stormwater permit from EPA. This award- winning program educates citizens and businesses about the proper disposal of pollutants, and includes extensive inspections and testing of surface waters to ensure compliance with local codes. Nearly all of Tulsa’s suburban cities now have Phase II stormwater permits that compliment Tulsa’s water quality protection program. INCOG hosts the Green Country Stormwater Alliance (GCSA) which provides resources for regional education and assistance to permitted cities as they implement their programs.

Under the Tulsa County Blue Thumb program, the City of Tulsa partners with the Tulsa County Conservation District to educate businesses and local citizens on the importance of maintaining water quality. The Blue Thumb program trains and manages volunteer monitors that measure water chemistry in Tulsa area streams. The Blue Thumb program also marks stormdrain inlets and provides hands-on education programs to secondary schools about water quality protection.

INCOG also hosts the Oklahoma Stream Team (OST), an organization devoted to education and providing technical assistance on environmentally responsible alternatives to urban stream channel restoration and protection. The OST provides free consultation and planning assessment of projects, and supports a variety of education programs in the Tulsa area and in Oklahoma.

There are several important monitoring programs in the Tulsa area. The Oklahoma Water Resources Board has several permanent water quality monitoring stations in the Tulsa area where monthly data are collected. Also, the US Geological Survey (USGS) has several continuous reading flow gage stations in the Tulsa area. The Oklahoma Conservation Commission monitors many local streams for basic water quality parameters as well as fish and macroinvertebrates. The City of Tulsa’s suburban cities perform self-monitoring of streams to which they have a wastewater treatment plant discharge. All of these monitoring programs lead to an evaluation of the health of area streams to ensure that water quality standards are being met. When problems are indicated, the stream is scheduled for a special study to determine appropriate loads that will protect water quality. These strategies all lead to continuing and documented improvement in water quality in the Tulsa area.