Members of the Lawton City Council say they're interested in a proposal that could bring needed water from Texas to Oklahoma.
The city's public works director says Lawton has received less rainfall than average since 2010. Lawton is currently able to use about 53 percent of water from its sources that include Lake Ellsworth and Waurika Lake. The director says without more rain, the city would likely move to a higher stage of water restrictions by September or October.
The Lawton Constitution reports a water proposal was discussed at the council's special meeting Wednesday.
Guernsey's [Engineers Architects Consultants] Ken Larry Roach said the company began looking at such a project in cooperation with a hydrogeology company and a law firm about two years ago because so many cities are seeking more water supplies. He said Guernsey was hired by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board to evaluate 135 potential reservoir sites; of those, 35 might be viable and 30 more marginal. Each would cost $200 million or more and it would take 15 years or more to implement such a plan.
An engineering company says a water option could be building a pipeline from Texas to Oklahoma. They say some Texas ranchers have excess water and that they're interested in selling.
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