Comanche County Rural Water District No. 2 receives $1,840,000 water system funding from OWRB

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Comanche County Rural Water District No. 2 (District) received approval for $1,840,000 in funding Tuesday from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) to improve the District’s water infrastructure.  Construction of upgrades and improvements to the water system will be financed by the Oklahoma Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) where $800,000 of the loan will be in the form of loan forgiveness along with $500,000 in Comanche County  American Rescue Plan Act funds.   

The District will utilize the proceeds to replace 15,900 linear feet (lf) of 8-inch water line, 12,440 lf of 10-inch water line, to install one (1) 500-gallon per minute booster pump station, and to replace one (1) 200-gpm booster pump station at Stoney Point. These improvements will reduce water loss and improve pressures in the distribution system, especially on the west side of the District from which the new booster pump station will serve.   

Joe Freeman, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the District’s customers will save an estimated $1,389,700 over the life of the 30-year loan compared to traditional financing.  The DWSRF loan will be secured with a lien on the revenues of the District’s water system and a mortgage. 

A Comanche County Rural Water District No. 2 representative stated, “Comanche County Rural Water District No. 2 has borrowed funds from the OWRB four times in the last ten years. The staff has always been courteous and eager to help. The assistance we have received has been a huge help in continuing to maintain our water infrastructure. We appreciate your consideration of our loan.” 

The DWSRF program is administered by the OWRB and the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) with partial funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  The DWSRF program has provided approximately $2.0 billion in drinking water loans to provide communities 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 $6.2 billion in loans and grants for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements throughout Oklahoma. 

Julie Cunningham, Executive Director of the OWRB, and Scott Thompson, Executive Director of the ODEQ, express their sincere appreciation to State Senator John Michael Montgomery and State Representative Toni Hasenbeck for their support of the DWSRF program. 

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

Eddie Rhandour
Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality
(405) 702-8100
Eddie.Rhandour@deq.ok.gov