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The Bartlesville City Council votes 5-0 to award a construction contract for the Effluent Reuse Pipeline and Outfall Cascade — part of the multi-phased Water Reuse Project — to Paragon/KSL for $4,035,505.

Mayor Dale Copeland says this is well below the $6 million budget for this portion of the project.

The reuse system involves the construction/installation of infrastructure that will consist of a pump station at the wastewater treatment plant and an underground pipeline transporting the water to the Caney River just south of the County Road West 1500 bridge. This will allow the City to utilize treated wastewater to augment the yield of the Caney River during periods of drought, which serves as one of the City’s main water sources.

For Bartlesville and the surrounding communities that rely on the City’s water resources, the water reuse project means expanding the area’s potable water supply decades into the future by extending the resources of Hulah Lake, one of the City’s primary water sources, by approximately 25 years and providing approximately 35-70 percent of current water supply needs.

The system is expected to cost around $7.75 million, which will be funded partially through grant funding but primarily with Water Capital Investment Fees. The pipeline construction is expected to take about 15 months to complete. It is anticipated the Water Reuse Project will be online by June 2023.