Oklahoma City utility trustees keep corrosion-control approach, staff say 400+ lead service lines will be replaced sooner

The Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust on Dec. 16 approved an engineering report that recommends maintaining the utility’s current corrosion-control treatment and heard staff say they have identified just over 400 lead service lines in the system and will pursue an accelerated replacement contract.

The presenter identified in the transcript as "Mister Hare" summarized a 2018 contract with Corolla Engineers to evaluate distribution-system water quality, develop a nitrification action plan and assess corrosion-control treatment for pipe interiors. The study evaluated cast iron pipe, lead service lines, galvanized iron and premise plumbing and concluded that "maintaining the current corrosion control treatment practice is recommended to ensure continued water quality," the presenter said.

A technical review committee that provided input at major milestones included experts from OSU Tulsa, Virginia Tech, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development and the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, the presenter said. The study considered future operating conditions, including anticipated changes in the blend of water from the Heffner and Draper water treatment plants for drought resiliency.

During questioning, trustees asked about the prevalence of older materials such as cast iron and galvanized pipe; the presenter said those materials were "extremely hard to find" in the system. Trustees also pressed on the inventory of lead service lines. An on-record speaker who participated in the physical harvesting and verification work said the team had originally estimated there could be as many as 30,000 private service lines and roughly half that many on the utility side based on installation dates, but that field verification turned up "just over 400." That speaker said the EPA sets replacement timelines and because the verified number is small staff intends to bring an item to the board to approve a contract that would replace the lines in a short period rather than using the full 10 years allowed by EPA.

The same speaker said earlier estimates had suggested a replacement program could have been as large as $100,000,000 based on installation dates; after field verification the project is "a very small number that we need to deal with," the speaker said. The transcript does not specify a final contract amount or a procurement schedule; the presenter and staff said a contract will be presented to the board in a future meeting.

Trustees voted to approve the engineering report item (item 6a) as presented (motion and seconder not specified in the transcript). The meeting packet contained the study materials and minutes from the Dec. 2 meeting, which the trustees also approved. No vote tallies were recorded in the available transcript.

The General Manager, Mister Browning, reported on lake levels, noting Tokamagie Creek was about 4 feet below full pool while other lakes were nearly full, and thanked staff before the meeting was adjourned.

Votes at a glance: - Approval of Dec. 2 minutes — approved (motion/seconder not specified). - Approval of consent docket (engineering amendments, bids and change orders) — approved (motion/seconder not specified). - Approval of concurrence with the city on a paving project — approved (motion/seconder not specified). - Approval of engineering report on distribution system nitrification and corrosion control (item 6a) — approved (motion/seconder not specified).

What the trust decided next: staff will return with a contract to replace the verified lead service lines; timing and cost were not specified in the transcript.

(Reporting based on the meeting transcript; the transcript contains an inconsistent spelling of the presenter's surname in different places. The article uses the form "Mister Hare" as presented in the meeting record.)