Pawnee Public Works Authority receives $1,575,000 wastewater system loan from OWRB

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Pawnee Public Works Authority (Authority) received approval for a $1,575,000 loan Tuesday from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) to improve the Authority’s wastewater infrastructure.  Construction of upgrades and improvements to the wastewater system will be financed by the Oklahoma Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) along with $8,057,132.45 in Financial Assistance Loan (FAP) program funds.

The Authority has a wastewater treatment system in need of rehabilitation. These proceeds will be used to replace and improve the mechanical bar screen, various pumps, aerators, gravity thickeners, electrical system, controls and instrumentation, valves, and construct a new retaining wall to address hill slippage. These improvements are necessary to provide adequate treatment to satisfy discharge limits.

Joe Freeman, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the Authority’s customers will save an estimated $389,800 over the life of the 20-year loan compared to traditional financing. The CWSRF loan will be secured with a lien on the revenues of the Authority’s water, electric, sewer, and sanitation systems, a 1.5% sales tax, and a mortgage.  Pawnee's Mayor and Authority Chair, Alice Cottle, and consulting engineer, Matt Coe, attended the OWRB’s monthly meeting in support of the loan application. Ms. Cottle stated, “Pawnee is grateful for the funding received in the past and appreciates the consideration of this request.”

The CWSRF program is administered by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board with partial funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  The CWSRF program has provided approximately $2.4 billion in water quality 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 $6.5 billion in loans and grants for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements throughout Oklahoma.

“We are grateful to State Senator Chuck Hall and State Representative Ty Burns for their 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