Stoner Utilities Authority updates plans for McMurtry pipeline, pump stations and treatment upgrades

City staff presented a status update Monday on the city’s raw-water supply and treatment program, highlighting a McMurtry pipeline at 60% design, ongoing construction at the finished-water and recovered-water pump stations, and a chemicals-system replacement at the water treatment plant.

The update matters because the projects together aim to increase resiliency and capacity for Stillwater’s water system, accommodate new large industrial and data-center customers and address aging treatment equipment; staff also outlined costs, funding gaps and a multi‑year timeline that will require loans and grants.

City staff member Candy Starring and City staff member Chris Humes led the presentation, describing three high-priority projects the city is pursuing. Humes said the new finished-water pump station is being built to deliver 24 million gallons a day, with accommodations to reach 30 million gallons a day, and that work on that pump station is “about half done.” He added the plant itself currently can produce about 18 million gallons a day but actual production is lower: the city’s typical daily use is about 6 to 8 million gallons and recent peak demand has reached roughly 14 million gallons a day.

Humes also described a recovered-water pump station — which returns clarifier effluent to the head of the plant to improve efficiency — and identified that recovered‑water and finished‑water pump station work are part of capital projects already under construction. He described the chemicals project replacing equipment installed in the early 1980s, including a new lime silo described as 20 feet in diameter and 60 feet tall, and said the chemicals work is roughly 10% complete by dollars.

Starring summarized broader plant needs and planning steps. She said green‑, red‑ and yellow‑priority projects identified in the city’s August 2022 phased plan remain top priorities and that the McMurtry pipeline (the red phase) is at about 60% design. Starring gave a schedule: staff expect to start landowner easement discussions in the fall, begin construction in 2026 and put the line in service in January 2028. The pipeline would be about seven miles and is intended to provide a secondary raw-water source and enable “peak shaving” so the city need not build a much longer, more expensive line from the existing Call Lake supply.

Staff presented revised cost estimates for priority phases that are higher than earlier projections: the green phase rose to about $31 million from $25 million and the yellow phase (chemicals) bid at about $28 million rather than $23 million. Starring said total costs for all phases, including a possible future expansion and PFOS work, could approach $210 million plus unknown PFOS treatment costs; she said the FY2025 program and McMurtry together total roughly $95 million for near-term work. Grants approved so far on these projects total about $9.5 million and staff said adding ARPA funds used for design increases that to about $11.5 million; Starring said the city will rely heavily on low‑interest loans and rate revenue to finance the remainder.

On PFOS, Starring said the city will add study of PFOS options into the FY2026 program to determine whether to do a side stream or add specific filter media; she said no cost has been estimated yet. She also noted the city must maintain two clear wells to meet state (DEQ) requirements and that replacement of filters and the clear well are planned as part of an expansion from 18 to 24 million gallons per day capacity.

Staff explained the planned capacity additions with a focus on accommodating new industrial demands, an economic-development allocation of 2.7 million gallons per day for data centers in initial phases, and the possibility that Oklahoma State University might act as a backup customer. Humes said pump sizing and horsepower were set to make modest incremental cost increases now rather than retrofit later.

On resiliency and service to tribal partners, staff said the McMurtry design includes the ability to continue supplying the Otoe‑Missouria Tribe if the city must take segments of the Call Lake line offline for maintenance.

Starring and other staff noted financing details: ARPA funds were used for design and lagoon dredging, staff have obligated most ARPA funds to water projects, and the city is pursuing grants while planning to use low‑interest loans repaid by ratepayers over multi‑decade terms. Starring said the FY2025 work, McMurtry and additional plant work will require continued borrowing and grant-seeking.

The meeting included a public recognition: a trustee praised Candy Starring’s career and leadership on the water program and staff announced Starring will retire at the end of the month; no formal action was taken on that personnel item.

Votes at a glance: the meeting opened with a motion to approve the consent docket, which passed 4–0; the Stoner Utilities Authority adjournment was later approved 4–0. No formal motions or votes were recorded on project approvals or contracts in the transcript.

For next steps, staff said they will advance the McMurtry pipeline design to completion, begin landowner easement negotiations in the fall, continue construction on pump‑station and chemicals projects already underway, add PFOS study work into FY2026 scoping and continue to seek grant funding and loans to cover the remaining capital need.