Guymon Mesa Water Project Advances Amid Federal Funding Pause

City officials and the Ardurra Engineering Team provided residents with a status update on the Mesa Water Project that outlines near-term construction milestones and outstanding financing questions. The update, posted by the City of Guymon on Jan. 4, recounts a public meeting held Oct. 22 where Project Manager Jordan Coirier reviewed progress across all three project phases.

Phase III will concentrate on improvements to the water delivery system, and officials projected phase completion in February 2026. The city expects related construction bids to be issued in early spring, signaling movement from design and permitting toward procurement and field work. The project is intended to add roughly five million gallons per day of capacity to Guymon’s system, a step officials say is aimed at increasing the city’s long-term water resilience.

Finance and materials were central topics of the briefing. The Mesa Water Project carries a $32.2 million price tag and applied for a $17.5 million Department of Energy grant that Economic Development Director Sheila Martin pursued on the city’s behalf. The update notes that the DOE had awarded funds but has placed a pause on the funding while the grant undergoes federal review. City Manager Mike Shannon discussed options for storage tanks, saying both steel and concrete are under consideration and that concrete may offer better long-term reliability for the planned storage capacity.

A pause in federal disbursement of awarded grant funds creates timing and cash-flow questions for municipal managers even if the award itself remains intact. City staff told the community the project will continue if DOE funding timing changes. That assurance points to the likely need for contingency financing plans, re-sequencing of work or short-term bridging measures by city officials to prevent delays to Phase III.

For Guymon residents, the project promises expanded water availability and infrastructure resilience but also raises fiscal and oversight issues that merit public attention. Officials plan to move into procurement in the coming months and to finalize material decisions for storage tanks. Residents should monitor the City of Guymon live feed for updates, attend public meetings when possible, and ask city leaders about contingency funding plans and the schedule for upcoming bids to ensure transparency as the project moves toward execution.