Citizen Potawatomi Nation Receives $1,052,946 Grant for System Improvements from the OWRB

OKLAHOMA CITY – Citizen Potawatomi Nation (Nation’s) received approval for $1,052,946 in funding on Tuesday from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) to improve the Nation’s water infrastructure.  Construction of upgrades and improvements to the water system will be financed by the OWRB American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant program.

The Nation operates the Pottawatomie County Rural Water District No. Three and is committed to improving the District's services with two different projects. The first project addresses the Macomb Water Treatment Plant’s current residual holding ponds. These ponds are not sufficient enough to evaporate the backwash flow in future years. The proposed project improves the Macomb Water Treatment Plant with two new backwash ponds with synthetic liners.

The second project improves the Dale Treatment Plant. This plant is experiencing continued growth and needs to increase its capacity with additional water lines. The proposed project includes installing approximately 17, 827 linear feet of 12-inch waterline to the Plant, and all appurtenances required to complete the projects. The estimated cost of the projects is $2,105,891.71, which will be covered by an OWRB Tribal Match Grant of $1,052,945.86 and Citizen Potawatomi Nation funding of $1,052,945.85.

Lori Johnson, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the Nation’s customers will save an estimated $1,658,000.00 compared to traditional financing.

“This award for Citizen Potawatomi Nation (CPN) will assist the Tribe in providing critical water system upgrades for the rural residents of Pottawatomie County,” said Donny Vaughan, CPN Public Works Director and Manager for Pottawatomie County Rural Water District No. Three. “These infrastructure improvements will improve water access reliability and quality for current customers of Pottawatomie County Rural Water District Three and provide capacity to support ongoing growth within the district.”  

"I am grateful to the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and the Oklahoma Water Resources Board's continued commitment to investing in our water districts and shared community,” said Sen. Shane Jett, R-Shawnee.

“We are grateful to State Senator Shane Jett and State Representative Danny Sterling for their continued support of our financial assistance programs,” said Julie Cunningham, Executive Director of the OWRB.

The ARPA grant program is administered by the OWRB with funding from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and appropriated through the American Rescue Plan Act grants program. This OWRB program has been structured to provide communities and other eligible entities with the financial resources necessary to address water and wastewater infrastructure needs within their systems.

Since 1983 the Water Resources Board has approved over $8.6 billion in loans and grants for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements throughout Oklahoma.

Established in 1957, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) serves as the state’s water resources planning and development agency. A nine-member Board oversees the OWRB, with members appointed by the Governor to represent nine geographic regions and water-use sectors. The OWRB is committed to managing, protecting, and improving Oklahoma’s water resources to meet long-term water supply, water quality, flood mitigation, and infrastructure needs. For more information, visit Oklahoma.gov/owrb.