Atoka Municipal Authority receives $1,740,000 wastewater system loan from OWRB
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Atoka Municipal Authority (Authority) received approval for a $1,740,000 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).
The Authority owns and operates a wastewater collection system and treatment facility. The wastewater treatment plant does not have automated screening and grit removal causing workers to spend valuable time cleaning the manual bar screen and grit removal at the primary lift station. The proposed project is to construct a new headworks, which will be a two channeled unit capable of independent operation. This project will allow for updated equipment to prevent the treatment plant from excessive wear allowing the facility to maintain effective treatment prior to being discharged into Mudd Creek, a tributary to the Muddy Boggy Creek.
Joe Freeman, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the Authority’s customers will save an estimated $880,300 over the life of the 30-year loan compared to traditional financing. The CWSRF loan will be secured with a lien on the revenues of the Authority’s water and sewer systems and a 1 cent sales tax. Atoka Municipal Authority’s official attending the OWRB’s monthly meeting in support of the loan application included City Manager Danny Delay, who stated, “We appreciate the consideration of this vital component for our wastewater treatment plant.”
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 2.7 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 $7.4 billion in loans and grants for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements throughout Oklahoma.
“We are grateful to State Senator David Bullard and Speaker Charles McCall for their support of our financial assistance programs,” said Julie Cunningham, Executive Director of the OWRB.
"Water is one of the most important resources for communities across our state," said Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka. "This headworks unit for the wastewater treatment plant in Atoka, funded by the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, will help complete a critical infrastructure project and allow the Atoka Municipal Authority to better serve the community."
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Contact:
Joe Freeman
Oklahoma Water Resources Board
(405) 530-8800
Joe.Freeman@owrb.ok.gov
