Tulsa celebrates 100 years of the transformative Spavenau Water Project

The Tulsa Women's Commission meeting on February 7, 2025, highlighted the historical significance of the Spavenau Water Project, which transformed the city’s water supply system a century ago. The project, initiated in 1924, aimed to provide clean and reliable water to Tulsa, which previously relied on springs, wells, and the Arkansas River, known for its poor water quality.

The meeting recounted how influential Tulsans discovered Spavenaugh Creek, a clear spring-fed stream, during a hunting trip in 1908. This led to the hiring of civil engineer W. R. Hallway in 1921 to assess the feasibility of transporting water from the creek to Tulsa. His positive report prompted citizens to overwhelmingly approve a $6.8 million bond issue to fund the project.

Construction of the Spavenau water supply system took two years and cost $7.5 million, resulting in a reservoir that became the largest lake in Oklahoma at the time. Spavenaugh Lake impounds 8.5 billion gallons of water and is located 54 miles from Tulsa, with water flowing by gravity through the longest raw water line in the United States at that time.

The completion of the Spavenau water system was celebrated on November 17, 1924, marking a pivotal moment in Tulsa's infrastructure development. Today, the city provides an average of 105 million gallons of award-winning water daily to over 650,000 residents in the Tulsa Metropolitan Area. The historical impact of the Spavenau project continues to resonate, as it laid the foundation for Tulsa's growth and development, emphasizing the importance of reliable water sources for the community's future.