LAWTON - A $937,038 contract for construction of 2,100 linear feet of replacement 8-inch water mains in Willow Springs was awarded Tuesday night by the Lawton City Council.
Integrity Construction, from Indiahoma, was the lowest of three bidders for the job, which includes not only the PVC water lines but also gate valves, fire hydrants and water meters, records indicate. PVC pipe was chosen because its “useful life” is 100 years, Public Works Director Rusty Whisenhunt said. He estimated the work will take eight months to complete.
The property owners of Willow Springs Condominiums/ Townhouses on the northwest side of town filed a petition with City Hall for development of an improvement district to finance replacement of their aged water mains. “These were private lines constructed in the 1980s,” Planning Director Christine James related. “It’s a private development with private streets and private water lines.”
Council members adopted a resolution June 24, 2025, which determined that an improvement district for the neighborhood “is necessary for the replacement of their water mains.” The City of Lawton “will do the work and place a lien on the property” because the residents were unable to secure a bank loan to finance the project, James explained.
The Oklahoma Water Resources Board approved a $1,305,000 state revenue bond loan to the Lawton Water Authority on June 16 that will finance the Willow Springs project, Whisenhunt said.
Lori Johnson, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, said the payback period on the loan will be 30 years and the interest rate on the loan will be 5.2%. The Lawton Water Authority’s debt coverage ratio is 1.57x, Johnson said; that means the Authority has more than one and a half times the necessary revenue streams to repay its outstanding loans.
Annual payments due from the 75 property owners in the Willow Springs Neighborhood Water Main Improvement District can’t be determined precisely “until all of the costs are determined,” Whisenhunt said.
“The final cost will include City of Lawton expenses as well as construction and design,” city spokesperson Madalynn El Kouri told Southwest Ledger.
Then the City Council will establish the payback period which could be 30 years or perhaps 20 years - and the amount each property owner will be charged, Whisenhunt said.
Also Tuesday the council awarded a $2,091,432 contract to Southwest Water Works for construction of the Industrial Park gravity sanitary sewer main. Six companies vied for the job.
The job will entail construction of approximately 6,000 linear feet of gravity-flow sanitary sewer mains ranging in size from 8 inches in diameter to 24 inches.
The intent of the sewer lines is “to prepare for future development,” including the 320-acre Firehawk Aerospace complex in northwest Lawton, Whisenhunt said.
The project cost will be paid from a $4,479,212 Lawton Industrial Development Authority sales tax note, city records reflect.