Guymon Begins Mesa Water Project to Combat Ogallala Aquifer Decline

When Well Number 21 — “the city's best well” — went offline and Guymon lost “827 gallons a minute we was without for two weeks,” city leaders accelerated the Mesa Water Project to prevent repeat shortages, City Manager Michael Shannon recalled. The outage coincided with a peak day when residents used nearly 95 percent of the water available to the city, underscoring reliance on a system that now depends on 18 wells to serve homes across the Oklahoma Panhandle.

City officials describe the Mesa Water Project as a multi‑phase effort to secure potable supply through a new remotely located well field, storage and conveyance infrastructure intended to address Ogallala aquifer declines. A municipal letter titled “Ensuring Guymon's Water Future: The Mesa Well Project” says the initiative will “increase Guymon's water supply and upgrade our existing infrastructure” and aims to “future‑proof Guymon against population growth and economic development.” The letter, dated April 14, 2024, lists Mayor Kim Peterson, Vice Mayor Geraldine Sanchez and council members Sergio Alvidrez, Josh Setzer and Jason Eidson among city leadership.

Engineers presented a 60 percent design for phase 3 that spells out concrete hardware and flow paths. Project materials show about 18,000 feet of 18‑inch high‑density polyethylene raw‑water transmission main feeding two 850,000‑gallon concrete ground storage tanks — 1.7 million gallons combined — with a packaged booster pump station and disinfection facilities. The transmission main would feed the Mesa tanks, raw water would be disinfected ahead of storage, and finished water would be pumped back to Guymon through a 24‑inch final transmission line. Citizenportal Ai lists a phase 3 construction estimate of about $21.5 million and notes final design is scheduled for Feb. 2026, with bidding targeted for early spring and construction expected to begin in late spring pending permitting.

The project’s new supply estimates vary by source. Engineers’ materials state the well field “could produce an estimated 3 million to 5 million gallons a day,” while city officials have described the project as providing an “additional 5 million gallons of water a day.” Cost figures and funding status also differ: Newschannel10 / KFDA reported the Mesa effort as a “$32.2 million project” that applied for a $17.5 million Department of Energy grant; the grant had been awarded and then paused by DOE, and Shannon told meeting attendees “the project would continue without the funds.”

Site descriptions and land arrangements are similarly mixed in reporting. Citizenportal places the new well field “roughly 7 miles north of Guymon,” while other reporting describes it as “just east of town, amid some blustery mesas.” The city has leased rights to 640 acres of water plus about 14 acres of surface land for well houses under a lease that runs until 2080; the land and water remain state property managed by the Commissioners of the Land Office. Alva Brockus, in charge of commercial leases at the Land Office, said, “Guymon came to us probably almost three years ago now,” adding, “They needed water desperately.”

Project oversight and public updates are ongoing. The Ardurra Engineering Team “shared updates on all three phases of the project,” and project manager Jordan Coirier told a public meeting that “the project is about 60% complete.” KFDA reporting from Oct. 24, 2025, carried a projected completion date of February 2026 and noted bids would go out in early spring. City communications promise regular public updates; the municipal letter pledges the city “will provide regular updates on our progress and welcome your feedback and input every step of the way.”