Published: November 04, 2009 09:46 am      

Chickasha City Council plans study of Lake Fort Cobb water

The Chickasha City Council voted to study the chance of augmenting the Lake Fort Cobb Reservoir on Monday.

The council agreed to conduct the study at a January work session. Council members waited until this week to make the official vote because they had not yet received the agreement from the Lake Fort Cobb Master Conservancy District.

"There wasn't a point in getting the Chickasha revenue until we needed it," said Lana Ryburn, office manager for the conservancy district.

The council voted unanimously Monday evening to pay $32,000, 50 percent of the total cost of the report.

City officials agreed verbally with the conservancy district in February and work began in March. Chickasha City Manager Larry Shelton said it will be another six months before the study is finished.

The cost is split equally with the Fort Cobb Reservoir Master Conservancy, who signed their agreement with the federal government's Bureau of Reclamation on Feb. 17, 2009.

The study is another step in the process to decide where Chickasha will draw water from in the future.

"We entered into an augmentation study for additional water to keep the lake fuller," Shelton said

There are currently two leading plans that city officials are considering. One plan is in conjunction with Oklahoma City, which would pipe water from Sardis Lake in southeast Oklahoma. Shelton said the water quality is superior, but the price is high.

The second plan, more cost effective plan, taps into a remaining pipeline and pumps water from Waurika Lake, through Lawton and into Chickasha.

"It's another review that we have to go through to satisfy ourselves that we've looked at all the alternatives," Shelton said.

The study is in response to a 2006 study that looked into the alternatives to expanding the delivery system of the lake. That original study recommended a study of the possibilities of augmenting the water supply of the reservoir, which was conducted this year.

According to the city agenda the report was to be finished by October 2009, and would specifically study the expansion of Lake Fort Cobb by 6,000 acre-feet per year until 2060.

"That's the amount Chickasha may like us to find, but we don't know how much we can augment the lake yet," Ryburn said. "We're looking into the options."