Lawton gets $21 million loan to replace more water mains

  • David B. Hale | Southwest Ledger A traffic collision in Lawton at 38th Street and Gore Boulevard on March 11 resulted in this pickup nose down in a hole and one person transported to a hospital with minor injuries, the Lawton Police Department reported. Public Utilities Director Rusty Whisenhunt said the pit was excavated by a contractor in order to bore a hole for a new water line across Gore.
    David B. Hale | Southwest Ledger A traffic collision in Lawton at 38th Street and Gore Boulevard on March 11 resulted in this pickup nose down in a hole and one person transported to a hospital with minor injuries, the Lawton Police Department reported. Public Utilities Director Rusty Whisenhunt said the pit was excavated by a contractor in order to bore a hole for a new water line across Gore.

    OKLAHOMA CITY --The Lawton Water Authority received a $21 million loan last month from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) to continue massive improvements to the municipal water infrastructure.

    The Authority is upgrading critical water infrastructure to ensure reliable service for residents and businesses alike, by replacing aging water mains that have surpassed their useful life, Public Utilities Director Rusty Whisenhunt related.

    The latest project will entail installation of 29,492 linear feet of 8-inch PVC pipe and 4,344 linear feet of 12-inch PVC pipe to reduce the risk of leaks and service disruptions.

    “This is the third and final project in our waterline improvement program,” Whisenhunt told the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB). “We currently have 54 miles of waterline under construction, and this will allow us to get through this round of improvements to our aging infrastructure.”

    On March 11, for example, the Lawton City Council awarded a $4,385,354 contract to Mach Energy Services of Okarche to replace 11,500 linear feet of “high-maintenance” waterlines in an area east of Southeast 45th Street to Southeast 60th Street and south of Lee Boulevard to Bishop Road. That project is being financed from the $21 million DWSRF loan, Whisenhunt said.

    Modernizing Lawton’s water distribution network will improve the reliability of the distribution system and reduce operational costs for the city, he noted.

    The $21 million, 30-year loan from theWater Board will be secured with a lien on the Authority’s water, sewer, and trash collection/disposal revenues and may include a mortgage on the water and sewer systems.

    Lori Johnson, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, calculated that by borrowing from the state’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, the Authority’s customers will save an estimated $8.3 million on interest charges compared to traditional financing.

    One month ago today, Ms. Johnson told theWater Board that the Lawton Water Authority was a “borrower in good standing with a principal balance of $190 million” and a “debt coverage ratio” of 1.48 times. That means the Authority had enough revenue to pay the loan almost one and a half times over.