LAWTON – The City Council acknowledged receipt of permits to construct almost 12 miles of waterlines, awarded a contract to build 6.25 miles of sanitary sewer lines, and made arrangements to drill more test holes for potential groundwater wells.
The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality issued permits approving projects to install:
• 35,350 linear feet of 8-inch-diameter PVC water line and 720 linear feet of 10-inch water line north of Cache Road between 38th and 52nd streets;
• 9,327 linear feet of 20-inch water mains and 20 linear feet of 24-inch water mains in the west side industrial park;
• 15,600 linear feet of 12-inch and 1,800 linear feet of 10-inch water lines “to serve the Meadowbrook / 67th & Bishop Road” areas.
The council also awarded a $4,371,020 contract to Horseshoe Construction to replace approximately 33,000 linear feet of 8- and 10-inch gravity-flow sewer lines along Southeast 45th Street, starting south of Lee Boulevard and extending to Gore Boulevard.
The Bryan, Texas, company will have 250 days to complete the job after a work order is issued, the contract specifies.
The project is being financed from a $30 million Clean Water State Revolving Fund loan, records show.
To ensure adequate supplies of drinking water in the future, the council is considering groundwater pumped from wells drilled into the subterranean Arbuckle- Timbered Hills Aquifer in southwest Oklahoma.
Phase 1 of that project is production of a minimum of 5 million gallons per day (mgd) of potable water. One well was drilled and produced 1.2 mgd of raw water.
Bids were solicited and on Dec. 5, 2023, three bids were received. A $9,223,500 construction contract was awarded to Associated Environmental Industries Corp. on Jan. 9.
On Feb. 20 the state Commissioners of the Land Office issued a permit for a limited term of six months, beginning Feb. 20 and ending Aug. 20, for drilling test holes for potential water wells on state school land. That job, too, will be performed by Associated Environmental.
Lawton’s drinking water comes from Lakes Lawtonka, Ellsworth and Waurika During a severe drought several years ago, the City of Lawton imposed Stage 3 water rationing in the fall of 2014, and in the spring of 2015, because Lake Waurika had been drained from usage and evaporation, Lawton dredged silt from the bottom of the reservoir that was clogging pumps and making what little water was left harder to access.