With plans to cut water usage at the Koch Nitrogen Plant expected to come to fruition by 2016, city of Enid water revenue from the plant will decrease.
Through a $1.3 billion plant expansion, Koch Nitrogen officials plan to cut water use by almost five million gallons a day as the plant begins converting “gray water” from the city’s wastewater treatment plant into potable water.
The plant, located east of Enid, currently uses six million gallons of potable water a day, according to Enid Regional Development Alliance Executive Director Brent Kisling.
City of Enid officials said the plant’s water rate was $2.98 per 1,000 gallons in 2014 and $3.57 per 1,000 gallons in 2015.
The rates, which are the same as other local companies pay, have slowly increased, city spokesman Steve Kime said. An ordinance to set up rate increases on January 1 of each year, through 2019, passed in September 2014.
Koch Nitrogen paid the city $3.8 million for water in fiscal year 2011-12, $3.9 million in fiscal year 2012-13, $4.4 million in fiscal year 2013-14 and $4.5 million for 11 months of the 2014-15 fiscal year.
During an Enid Rotary Club meeting last week, a meeting attendee asked Mayor Bill Shewey what the plan is for a possible decrease in funds, with the Koch Nitrogen Plant not purchasing as much water from the city.
The city anticipates revenue will go down by $1 million, Shewey said.
“But, if you look at it in the long run, we need the water,” he said. “We need the water for what is coming to Enid in economic expansion. It’s a win-win situation.”
Shewey said he thinks the water usage will slowly creep back up, with the expansion.
“They can’t operate, in my mind, that big expansion on the 500,000 gallons of water (per day) that they would be using that they receive from the city of Enid,” he said.
The ERDA worked with Koch Nitrogen on the effort to reuse water, a move that will prevent water use from doubling, Kisling said.
