Published: November 11, 2008 09:17 am         

City Council hears sobering water system news

An aging water infrastructure and a dramatic rise in system repairs forced Stillwater City Council to take a sobering look at the situation and solutions Monday.

The city receives water from Kaw Lake through a 40-mile water line that has experienced eight leaks since it opened in 1983. The city has about 1,500 fire hydrants, five storage tanks and four booster stations.

Rural Water Corp. No. 3, completed in the 1970s, consists of 151 miles of pipeline, nine standing pipes and seven booster stations, and Rural Water District No. 1 has 23 miles of pipeline and one booster station.

The city worked with R.W. Beck, an independent firm that addresses financial, energy, water and waste water and solid waste issues, to study the water infrastructure. The city and R.W. Beck found many problems with the water infrastructure, now approaching 80 years old, and addressed both water and waste water systems.

In fiscal year 2008, water and sewer main breaks resulted in $342,000 in sewer projects, $318,000 in sewer-line replacements, $447,000 in waterline replacements and $552,000 in street improvements.

The city averages four leaks per week from failing pipes, which led to a loss of 2.7 million gallons of water in fiscal year 2007 and a loss in fire protection and washouts in streets and sidewalks in fiscal year 2007.

They found many deadends, resulting in a need for regular flushing. The city has been unable to cleanse chlorine residue from the system and lost 4.7 million gallons of water in fiscal year 2007 from regular flushing. The city experienced a system-wide loss of 28 million gallons of water in fiscal year 2007.

The wastewater system has an average of 12 backups a month, most caused by roots, badly-installed taps and debris in the lines. The result was $180,000 in damage claims paid by the city between fiscal years 2004 and 2008.

There were 12 reported incidents of manhole overflows in 2008 and excessive inflow and infiltration during storms. The incidents were reported to Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and Environmental Protection Agency, which could result in fines.

R.W. Beck said the city needs to replace the whole system and proposed a gradual fee increase to begin the overhaul in five years.

The council was unable to reach a conclusion and moved to look at the issue closer in another meeting.

For more information about the system or the study, call the city at 372-0025 or Stillwater Water Utilities at 742-8325.

     

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