State funding will help Lawton address water problems, if Lawton City Council says yes

State funding will allow the City of Lawton to address multiple water problems, including deteriorating waterlines and a damaged dam.

Acting in their capacity as the Lawton Water Authority, City Council members are expected to give city administrators permission today to apply for a $2 million grant from Oklahoma’s American Rescue Plan Act funds to repair damage on the Gondola Lake Dam on Medicine Creek in Medicine Park.

That dam, which is owned by the City of Lawton, is 100 years old, said Public Utilities Director Rusty Whisenhunt. He said there is no as-built information, maintenance records or previous inspection records for the dam that was used to create a small pool downstream of the Lawtonka dam, but also is used by the Town of Medicine Park for recreational activities.

The overflow spillway for that dam is damaged, and Lawton and Medicine Park officials want to analyze the structure to determine the condition of the dam and help decide whether the dam can be repaired or whether it should be rebuilt at the same location. That work is to include conceptual designs for the recommended alternative and cost estimates (detailed designs will be done in a later phase, Whisenhunt said). The council/water authority selected Jacobs Engineering Group in February to do those designs.

If the city receives the grant, it will be used to fund a construction project that has been tentatively estimated at $2.2 million.

State funds — in the form of a loan from the Drinking Water revolving loan fund administered by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board — also will pay for projects designed to improve Lawton’s water distribution system by replacing lines in areas with a high number of breaks because of aging and deteriorating infrastructure. Approval by the City Council will allow city staff to solicit bids for the work.

The first is actually two areas: Cache Road to Rogers Lane, Northwest 38th to Northwest 52nd streets; and West Gore to West Lee boulevards, Southwest 38th to Southwest 52nd streets. The work will replace 32,000 feet of high maintenance lines with new 8-inch and 12-inch mains, with the project to include public water service lines and meter sets. Estimated cost is $13 million.

A second project estimated at $9 million will allow replacement of waterlines, and work on public water service lines and meter sets, to be done in an area between Lincoln Boulevard and Cache Road, North Sheridan Road to Fort Sill Boulevard.

The projects will be brought back to the council to be awarded when the bidding phase is completed.