Chickasha council hears update on new water treatment plant design, timeline and source options
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Summary
Preece & Nichols presented updated designs and a timeline for a new Chickasha water treatment plant, designed for 6 million gallons a day with expansion capacity, and discussed the technical challenges of using Lake Chickasha as a source.
Jason Coughlin, a water treatment engineer with Preece & Nichols, updated the Chickasha City Council on plans for a new water treatment plant and answered council members’ questions about capacity, redundancy and potential raw-water sources.
Coughlin said the plant is being designed for 6 million gallons a day (MGD) with the ability to expand to 8 MGD. "We expect to wrap up 90% design in May and 100% in July, and take the project out to bid after regulatory review sometime late August," Coughlin said. After bidding and permitting, he said construction would take about two years, with completion anticipated around December 2027.
The presentation included updated 3-D renderings produced in Revit. Coughlin said the software helps the design team identify conflicts and walk operators through the model. He described site elements that will be built: rapid-mix, flocculation and sedimentation basins; an administration and filter building that will house a new laboratory; sludge holding ponds; a clear well; and a high-service pump station with vertical turbine pumps and an overhead crane for maintenance.
On resiliency, Coughlin said the plant "will have full backup generation." He and council members also discussed internal process redundancy that the existing plant lacks.
Council members asked about raw-water sources and blending. Coughlin said the current design basis uses Fort Cobb water and that Lake Chickasha is "a pretty complex water." He described Lake Chickasha's issues — high total dissolved solids (TDS), hardness and gypsum — and said blending ratios are unfavorable unless advanced pretreatment is used. "You either have to precipitate it and filter it or go to something like membranes, like nano filtration," Coughlin said, adding that treating Lake Chickasha to high quality could make subsequent blending counterproductive.
Coughlin said the design team reviewed supply options during the supply study and can provide blending ratios and recommendations to city staff. "I've actually got those blending ratios. I don't have them, but I can get them to Mr. Crosby," he said. He later reiterated, "I'd be happy to send Mr. Crosby some recommendations on what could be required at Lake Chickasha just because it's a pretty difficult water." The transcript does not specify Mr. Crosby's role.
On next steps, Coughlin said the project would proceed to regulatory review in July, which typically takes about 60 days, then to advertisement and bidding. He identified an expected construction start of October 2025, subject to regulatory review and the bidding schedule.
The presentation was primarily informational; no formal council votes or motions on the project were recorded in the provided transcript segment. Council members asked multiple technical questions; the consultant agreed to provide additional technical information and blending scenarios to city staff for further evaluation.
