Town of Corn Receives $75,000 Grant for Wastewater System Improvements from the OWRB

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Town of Corn (Town) in Washita County received approval for a $75,000 Rural Economic Action Plan (REAP) grant on Tuesday through the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) to improve the Town’s wastewater infrastructure.

The Town of Corn (Town) operates a wastewater system. The Town is experiencing infiltration and inflow (I&I) issues throughout the wastewater collection system. To support compliance efforts and system restoration, the Town will replace approximately 400 linear feet of aging 8-inch sewer main with new pipe and rehabilitate two existing manholes. These improvements will reduce excess flows, improve system reliability, and help prevent sewer overflows during heavy rainfall events.

The estimated cost of the project is $75,000.00 which will be funded by the OWRB REAP grant in the amount of $75,000.00.

Lori Johnson, chief of the OWRB's Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the grant will save the Authority’s customers $154,300 in principal and interest charges by not having to borrow the project funds.

“We are grateful to Senator Brent Howard and Representative Nick Archer for their continued support of water and wastewater infrastructure funding in Oklahoma,” said Julie Cunningham, OWRB Executive Director.

Since 1983 the Water Resources Board has approved over $8.7 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.