Enid Kaw Lake Water Supply Program passes major milestone

Residents of the City of Enid, Oklahoma and surrounding areas are one step closer to benefitting from a new, sustainable surface water supply planned to meet the future demand of citizens in Enid and Northwest Oklahoma.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District recently approved a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Environmental Assessment led by the City of Enid and Garver for the Enid Kaw Lake Water Supply Program. The USACE’s Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) means that the program, which includes a new intake at Kaw Lake and a 70-mile pipeline stretching from Kaw Lake to a new treatment facility inside the city, has taken the next significant step toward construction set to begin in the first half of 2021.

“The recent FONSI from the Tulsa District is the culmination of years of coordination, analysis, and detailed environmental investigations,” said Garver Oklahoma Environmental Planning Team Leader Kirsten McCullough. “The City of Enid and Garver worked tirelessly to manage the design and environmental authorization of this massive program, involving input from numerous stakeholders, and as a result, the citizens of Enid are that much closer to benefiting from this new surface water supply.”

The three-year effort included Garver working closely with the USACE Tulsa District and regional stakeholders to analyze the impacts on cultural and natural resources for each of the program’s infrastructure components. This extensive effort required detailed, on-the-ground investigations across the program area, which stretches from the intake structure to be constructed at Kaw Lake, along the path of the future pipeline, to the site of the future water treatment facility.

Garver has served as the City’s program manager for the $315 million capital project which, along with environmental services, has included design, cost estimating, schedule development, cash flow analysis, treatability analysis, land acquisition, and more.

To learn more about Garver's program management services, check out IQ magazine.