“Our existing pump stations will not meet projected future demand,” said City Manager Kimberly Meek in a statement.
The Stillwater Utilities Authority distributes drinking water beyond the city’s borders to 79,000 people in 5 counties. Some of those people are already having issues with water pressure from overburdened pumps — especially in Yost, northeast of Stillwater.
Stillwater resident Bryce Campbell at a Stillwater Utilities Authority meeting in December. He told the city staff his parents live in the Yost area.
“Many times — I don't mean 20, but probably 10, 15 — my mother comes to town and she's got soap in her hair,” Campbell said, “The water was such a low pressure that she couldn't take a shower — in the middle of the shower, it goes off.”
The Stillwater Rural Water Advisory Board wrote in its semi-annual report that its members have received more complaints about what they call the “Yost Pressure Zone.”
And the Advisory Board’s president, Robert Sitton, said low water capacity is hampering growth. That means the Utilities Authority is missing out on new ratepayers who could provide more revenue for the utility.
“We have people that are ready to build out there, ready to put in meters,” said Sitton. “But if we're limited on meters, that means that you're limited on income out there.”
The Stillwater Utilities Authority voted to approve a construction bid for the project last month.
Stillwater will use both a $39 million loan from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board and federal pandemic relief funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to replace the pumps. The city expects to finish the upgrades in 2026.
