By Andrew Knittle
The Norman Transcript
NORMAN — Getting water from Kaw Lake in northern Oklahoma isn’t a viable option for Norman residents, an engineering consultant said Thursday evening at the City’s seventh of eight public water forums.
Bryan Mitchell, a representative of the engineering firm hired to conduct a study for the dozen or so cities and municipalities looking to transport water from southeast Oklahoma, said Kaw Lake — which lies just east of Ponca City — is “too far” from Norman. He said Oklahoma City, which is leading the quest to suck more water out of the southeastern part of the state, already has a pipeline and necessary easements in place to allow for another waterline.
Assistant city attorney Kathryn Walker said Sardis Lake also has more water available than Kaw Lake, which has six cities on a waiting list to get water rights for it.
Mayor Cindy Rosenthal said Wednesday that Kaw Lake was never looked at by Council before the City paid for its share of the study with Mitchell’s firm.
“We never discussed it as an option,” Rosenthal said. “It was never presented to us … we responded to what was in front of us.”
But Rosenthal also was quick to point out — both on Wednesday and during Thursday evening’s water forum — that Norman hasn’t really committed to anything yet.
“At any point, any city can withdraw,” she said. “All we’ve done is continue to keep our chips on the table, nothing more than that.”
At Thursday’s meeting, she stressed that Norman is looking at an array of water options to address its ever-growing need, including reuse of water, arsenic removal technology to reclaim existing wells and the drilling of new water wells in east Norman.
She also acknowledged that Oklahoma City, which built a pipeline to southeast Oklahoma decades ago, is the driving force behind the proposed trust.
“They’ve spent 60 years building and maintaining this pipeline … this is where they’re committed,” Rosenthal said. “We’re just playing catch-up at this point.”
During a water forum last month, Mitchell said the estimated cost of the massive pipeline project between the Oklahoma City area and southeast Oklahoma ranges from $1.5 billion to $1.9 billion. The City of Norman’s share, which is based on projected water needs, would be between $360 million and $420 million.
Mitchell said last month that residents should get used to big price tags when it comes to securing water, especially in the future.
“The days of inexpensive solutions are over,” Mitchell said. “You’re talking about a tremendous amount of money, but you’re also talking about one-third of the state’s population.”
Walker said negotiations for water rights at Lake Sardis are “ongoing” with the federal government, which Oklahoma City is heading up.
Andrew Knittle 366-3540 aknittle@normantranscript.com
