Water Districts Present Proposal; Vian Gets Diamond Net

Sallisaw city commissioners heard a water proposal from two other water districts at their regular meeting Monday evening.

Officials with the Sequoyah County Water Association (SCWA) and Rural Water District 4, which currently buys water from Sallisaw, proposed a new SCWA water line from Lake Tenkiller, then west and south of Sallisaw to Rural Water District 4.

The proposal was presented by the SCWA engineer Jay Updike. Updike pointed out that the City of Sallisaw has its own water source, Brushy Lake, and in past drought years the water level at the lake dropped. That caused city officials to seek expanding the city’s water sources, but, as the proposal suggests, the answers have been complex and expensive. The city has not decided yet how to expand its water source.

SCWA has access to a large amount of water storage in Lake Tenkiller, which could help the city and all customers in a drought year, Updike pointed out. The new water line could be connected in a new metering station for SCWA, Rural Water District 4 and the City of Sallisaw south of Sallisaw. And, if the city needed water, it could be drawn from that meter.

Updike invited the city to participate in building the new water line along with the two water districts, the Cherokee Nation, Indian Health Services and the Eastern Oklahoma Development District.

Updike emphasized that SCWA and Rural Water District 4 have no interest in taking customers from the City of Sallisaw.

Since the presentation was a proposal, it required no action by the city commissioners.

City Manager Clayton Lucas  reported to the commissioners that Diamond Net internet services will be available to Vian residents by the end of the week.

Diamond Net has been expanding internet service throughout the county and increasing its customer base. For information on Diamond Net internet service call 918-775-4151.

Lucas also reported to the commissioners that construction of the leachate lagoon at the landfill is nearly complete. Lucas said the city has saved over $1 million by building the lagoon itself.

The commissioners voted against the purchase of two new vehicles for city administrators for the time being.

Ward 3 Commissioner Julian “Poncho” Mendiola explained, “I am not against buying those two vehicles.”

The purchase of the two vehicles was approved during the city’s budget retreat, he said. But at the present time, two other vehicles are more badly needed, Mendiola said. The fire department is in need of a tanker truck and the electric department is in need of a bucket truck, he said.

Mendiola concluded, “We need to take care of our citizens. That was my greatest reason for voting against purchasing the two vehicles for administrators. We want to make sure we assist the community first.”

Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

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