Published: June 19, 2009 09:15 am      

Water panel aims at Lawton, Waurika sources

The Chickasha Future Water Supply Committee met Thursday to discuss several potential plans for Chickasha water availability, with two potential studies helping the board create a tentative plan to supplement the current and future water supply.

The current water supply in Chickasha, which is brought in from the Fort Cobb reservoir in southwest Oklahoma, is said to exceed the lakes capacity around 2025, according to studies. This is based on the current water usage and expected future usage for Chickasha, and the current usage of Western Farmers, PSO and Anadarko, which also gets water from Fort Cobb.

“We believe we have a responsibility … to research every possible water source for the community,” said City Manager Larry Shelton. “Fifteen years from now, this is going to be a critical issue.”

The Regional Raw Water Supply Study was conducted by several Oklahoma City metro and central Oklahoma cities to consider the source waters of Lake Sardis, McGee Creek and the Kiamachi River for the central Oklahoma area, including Chickasha, Norman and Shawnee. The water would be brought in from southeast Oklahoma through the Atoka pipeline.

Although the study shows this to be a feasible and likely successful operation for Chickasha, the cost incurred will be near $175 million. These costs do not include the purchase of water from the region.

One of the benefits that would come from using the Atoka pipeline is that the Kiamachi River is one of the last big water sources in Oklahoma that has not been appropriated, Shelton said.

Another option comes from Lawton and Waurika, with Lake Ellsworth and the Waurika pipeline offering potential and less expensive options for Chickasha’s future water supply.

The committee voted to propose the funding for a study on the Lawton and Waurika plan at the next city council meeting. The cost for the study would be about $40,000 and if approved will take about 90 days to complete.

These plans are not meant to completely change the water source for Chickasha, Shelton said. The city will still maintain their contract with the Fort Cobb reservoir; these plans are intended to supplement the current supply.

“It would be irrational to sit through this time and not have anything ready to go when the time comes,” said Mayor and Committee Chairman Greg Elliott.

Shelton also said based on cost and location, water from Lawton and Waurika would be the most realistic for a long-term plan. In a survey conducted about this issue in 10 neighboring towns, voters overwhelmingly voted reliability and cost to be the most important factors when choosing a project for future water supply.

“When you do long-term water projects,” Shelton said, “you look out about 50 years.”