The City Council voted Monday to approve funding for the engineering portion of the Kaw Lake study.
The study was recommended by the Water Resources Committee, which recently voted to recommend that the council approve a contract with S2 Engineering to conduct a study on the water quality, feasibility, and costs associated with obtaining water from Kaw Lake.
The lake, located approximately 50 miles west of Bartlesville in Kay County, has rights to approximately 40 million gallons of water per day available.
“In 2006, the City partnered with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers through the Planning Assistance to States program to determine raw water options for long term water supply. One of the options investigated was to access water in Kaw Lake,” said Water Utilities Director Terry Lauritsen.
The PAS study estimated the cost of the pipeline, pump station and water storage rights at $106 million. Projecting that estimate to a present-day value has resulted in a cost around $150 million, Lauritsen said.
“However, we (City staff) feel that the $150 million is likely not accurate,” he said. “To determine an accurate estimate, staff has requested a proposal from S2 Engineering for a Kaw Lake Water Supply Study.”
The study will examine the following items:
- Water quality at Kaw Lake to ensure it is compatible with the City’s treatment system.
- Raw water intake, which is how the City will remove water from the lake, and investigate options to build the City’s own structure or connect to an existing structure.
- Pipeline alignment, investigating up to three alignment options, summarize potential environmental impacts and inventory water providers along the corridor for potential partnerships.
- Estimated project costs, including engineering, easement/right of way, environmental and construction, and project duration will be provided for each option.
The study will be based on three flow amounts, 14 million gallons per day, 18 million gallons per day and 22 million gallons per day. The cost of the services contract is $112,710. It is expected the study will take five months to complete.