April 19 is the date for an oral presentation on the Oklahoma Water Resources Board’s petition for the Oklahoma Supreme Court to hear the board’s request for a stream adjudication as to the rights to water in the Kiamichi, Clear Boggy and Muddy Boggy basins.

The Choctaw and Chickasaw nations have filed a federal lawsuit over their rights to water in Sardis Lake and in some 22 counties in southeastern Oklahoma under historical treaties.

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt filed the original-jurisdiction petition on behalf of the board.

Normally, oral presentations are made before a court referee. However, given the wide-ranging scope and importance of the water issue, arguments may be heard by a single justice or by the entire court.