City of Bethany receives $1,500,000 grant for water system improvements

OKLAHOMA CITY –The City of Bethany (City) received approval for $1,500,000 in funding Tuesday from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) to improve the City’s water metering infrastructure.  Upgrades to the system will be financed by the Oklahoma American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant program along with $1,500,000 in local funds.

The city will utilize the proceeds to acquire and install Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) water meters and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). This project focuses on water conservation and efficiency and could lead to increased water supply reliability through providing the system officials with a better understanding of potential vulnerabilities.

Joe Freeman, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the City’s customers will save an estimated $2,315,900 compared to traditional financing.

The ARPA grant program is administered by the OWRB with funding from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and appropriated through Senate Bill 13 and Senate Bill 429 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 $6.4 billion in loans and grants for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements throughout Oklahoma.

“We are grateful to Representative Marilyn Stark, Senator Jack Stewart and Senator Carri Hicks from the Bethany area for their continued support of our financial assistance programs,” said Julie Cunningham, Executive Director of the OWRB.

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