Tri-County Rural Water District No. 2 receives $500,000 grant for system improvements

OKLAHOMA CITY –The Tri-County Rural Water District No.2 (District) received approval for $500,000 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 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant program along with $500,000 in local funds.     

The District serves approximately 2,400 residential, commercial, and pasture connections. The east side of Shawnee is experiencing significant growth to include over forty (40) acre subdivisions that are in the planning phase.  The District does not currently have the infrastructure required to support this level of development and will use the proceeds to reimburse for the extension of an existing waterline to provide additional capacity. These improvements include approximately 14,800 linear feet (lf) of 8-inch high density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe, 700 lf of bore across the North Canadian River, 300 lf of road bore with steel casing, and for the purpose of purchasing infrastructure equipment.     

Joe Freeman, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the District’s customers will save an estimated $755,500 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 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 $6.2 billion in loans and grants for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements throughout Oklahoma.     

“We are grateful to State Legislators from the Shawnee area 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