The Mannford Public Works Authority Receives $693,820 Water System Funding from the OWRB
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mannford Public Works Authority (Authority) received approval for a $693,820 loan with 100% principal forgiveness on Tuesday from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) to improve the Authority’s water infrastructure. Construction of upgrades and improvements to the water system will be financed by the Oklahoma Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF).
The Authority operates a public water system and will use the proceeds to replace 992 aging water meters with modern automated metering infrastructure (AMI), which provides accurate, real-time water-use data. Upgrading to AMI will improve the precision of water monitoring, help quickly identify leaks and other sources of water loss, and reduce operational costs tied to manual meter reading. By automating these tasks, operators will have more time to focus on system maintenance, repairs, and other critical needs. These improvements will strengthen long-term water reliability and support more efficient service for residents and businesses served by the Authority.
Lori Johnson, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the Authority’s customers will save an estimated $1,110,620 when compared to traditional financing.
Julie Cunningham, Executive Director of the OWRB, and Rob Singletary, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ), express their sincere appreciation to State Senator Randy Grellner and State Representative Kyle Hilbert for their support of the DWSRF program.
The DWSRF program is administered by the OWRB and ODEQ with partial funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The DWSRF program has provided approximately $2.5 billion in drinking water loans to provide communities with the resources necessary to maintain and improve the infrastructure that protects our valuable water resources statewide.
Since 1983, the Oklahoma 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.
