Edmond outlines multibillion-dollar water plan; O1C treatment phase could cost up to $392 million

City officials on the Edmond City Council presented a multi‑phase plan to expand and replace the city’s aging water‑treatment capacity, with the largest remaining phase estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars.

Will Huggins, who leads execution of the Water Resources capital improvement program, told the council the plan traces to a 2013 master plan that recommended increasing surface‑water reliance and expanding treatment capacity. Work already under way includes O1A (solids handling) and O1B; staff described O1C as the final process‑improvement phase needed to reach roughly 30 million gallons per day of treatment capacity. Huggins said the midpoint construction estimate for O1C is $327 million, with a high‑end figure cited near $392 million, and that the city has reorganized the original single large project into three phases to make progress while spreading cost and schedule risk.

The presentation laid out a multi‑project five‑year CIP exceeding half a billion dollars for water and wastewater combined. Huggins said about 40% of the upcoming work will replace existing capacity and that the overall water portion of the CIP is the largest single piece of the city’s capital plan. He said the city has started a rate study and will pursue financing after design and bidding steps for O1C, and that earlier elements (O1A/O1B) are already in construction or design.

Council members asked about timing, the relationship between CIP fund balances and the separate CIP tax fund, and whether new construction would require additional personnel or equipment. Staff said the current request was informational and preparatory: design and bidding would precede decisions about construction financing and rate adjustments. Chris Diving, director of water resources, said staff can provide deeper, project‑level detail at a workshop or in follow‑up materials.

Why it matters: The water‑treatment expansion shapes Edmond’s capacity to serve growth and to meet regulatory and resiliency needs; the O1C cost range means decisions on financing and rates could affect utility customers and city budgeting over multiple years.

What’s next: Staff said next steps include finishing the remaining design work, bidding and award for O1C, and using the rate study to evaluate financing options ahead of construction that staff currently estimates could extend through 2030.