The Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) is an agency

Government agency

A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...

 in the government of Oklahoma

Government of Oklahoma

The government of the US State of Oklahoma, established by the Oklahoma Constitution, is a republican democracy modeled after the Federal government of the United States. The state government has three branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial...

 under the Governor of Oklahoma

Governor of Oklahoma

The governor of the state of Oklahoma is the head of state for the state of Oklahoma, United States. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the Oklahoma executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma...

. OWRB is responsible for managing and protection the water resources of Oklahoma as well as for planning for the state's long-range water needs. The Board is composed of nine members appointed by the Governor with the consent of the Oklahoma Senate

Oklahoma Senate

The Oklahoma Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Legislature of Oklahoma, the other being the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The total number of Senators is set at 48 by the Oklahoma Constitution....

. The Board, in turn, appoints an Executive Director to administer the agency.

Leadership

The Water Resources Board is overseen by the Secretary of the Environment

Oklahoma Secretary of the Environment

The Oklahoma Secretary of the Environment is a member of the Oklahoma Governor's Cabinet. The Secretary is appointed by the Governor, with the consent of the Oklahoma Senate, to serve at the pleasure of the Governor...

. Under Governor Mary Fallin

Mary Fallin

Mary Fallin is the 27th and current Governor of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. She was a U.S. Representative for from 2007 until 2011....

, Gary Sherrer

Gary Sherrer

Gary Sherrer is an American Democratic politician from Oklahoma. Sherrer serves as Oklahoma Secretary of the Environment under Republican Governor Mary Fallin...

 is serving as the Secretary.

History

Created in 1957, the nine-member Board is composed of one member from each of five congressional districts, with the remaining members-at-large. Members serve seven-year terms. Members represent recreational, industrial, irrigation, municipal, agricultural, soil conservation, and rural residential water uses. The Board administers financial assistance programs to fund eligible public water supply and wastewater treatment projects and improvements. The Board also administers water use permits, the water well drillers licensing program, dam safety, floodplain management programs, the Clean Lakes program, and promulgates state water quality standards.

Organization

• Water Resources Board
  • Executive Director
    • Executive Division - direct staff of the Executive Director, responsible for supporting the Board and other agency-wide services
      • General Counsel Section
      • Fiscal Services Section
      • Human Resources Section
    • Administrative Services Division - responsible for providing support to the agency
      • Legislative and Media Relations Section
      • Informantion Services Section
    • Financial Assistance Division - responsible for providing loan and emergency grant programs to local governments to fund the construction or rehabilitation of community water and wastewater projects
    • Planning and Management Division - responsible for issuing permits for the use of the surface waters and groundwaters
      • Permitting Section
      • Technical Studies Section
      • Planning Section
    • Water Quality Division - responsible for collecting physical, chemical and biological data to protect the public health and safety
      • Standards Section
      • Monitoring Section
      • Lakes and Special Studies Section

Staffing

The Water Resources Board, with an annual budget of about $20 million, is one of the smaller employers of the State. For fiscal year 2011, the Board was authorized 101 full time employees.

Division	Number of Employees
Administration Division	23
Water Quality Division	34
Financial Assistance Division	21
Planning and Management Division	23
Total	101

See also

• Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality
  Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality
  The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality is a department of the government of Oklahoma under the Governor of Oklahoma. It is responsible for protecting human health and for safeguarding the natural environment: air, water, and land. DEQ is chiefly responsible for the environmental policy...
  
  
• Oklahoma Water Resources Board website