Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District receives $1,409,648 grant for system improvements

OKLAHOMA CITY –The Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District (District) received approval for $1,409,648 in funding Tuesday from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) to improve the District’s infrastructure.  Construction of upgrades and improvements to the system will be financed by the Oklahoma American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant program. 

This District, in Cleveland County and through Lake Thunderbird, provides water supply to the cities of Norman, Del City, and Midwest City. These proceeds will be used for the reimbursement of some project costs and new projects to include the replacement and expansion of back-up emergency generator power at their main plant. This project will increase capacity from 750 to 1,800 kilowatts. Other projects will include pumping unit rehabilitation and replacement at the main pumping plant and re-lift pumping plant and for SCADA and telemetry upgrades, pipeline engineering, and the construction of a new equipment building should remaining funds allow. 

Joe Freeman, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the District’s customers will save an estimated $2,187,200 compared to traditional financing. District Board President, Amanda Nairn, and District Manager, Kyle Arthur, attended on behalf of Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District. Amanda Nairn stated, “We thank the (OWRB) staff for their work and the Board for consideration of this grant. This project is important infrastructure that we must maintain for our member cities which service about 250,000 people.”

The ARPA grant program is administered by the OWRB with funding from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and appropriated through SB 13 for the Water and Wastewater American Rescue Plan Act grants program. This OWRB program has been structured to provide communities and other eligible entities financial resources necessary to address water and wastewater infrastructure needs within their systems. Since 1983 the Water Resources Board has approved over $6.2 billion in loans and grants for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements throughout Oklahoma.     

 “We are grateful to State Legislators from the Norman, Del City, and Midwest City areas for their continued support of our financial assistance programs,” said Julie Cunningham, Executive Director of the OWRB. 

#### 

Contact:
Joe Freeman
Oklahoma Water Resources Board
(405) 530-8800
Joe.Freeman@owrb.ok.gov