Enid Municipal Authority Receives $6,000,000 Water System Funding from the OWRB
The Enid Municipal Authority (Authority) received approval for $6,000,000 in funding Tuesday from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) including $1,150,000 in loan forgiveness to improve the Authority’s Water infrastructure. Construction of upgrades and improvements to the water system will be financed by the Oklahoma Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF).
The Enid Municipal Authority is launching a critical infrastructure project to replace aging 6-inch cast iron water lines with modern 8-inch PVC C900 DR18 water lines across several residential areas. The project spans multiple locations, including the 700–2000 block of East Cherokee Avenue, 1900–2000 block of West Maine, 200 block of South Hayes Street, 2100 block of West Cherokee Avenue, 700–800 block of South Van Buren Street, 100– 400 block of East Olive Avenue, 100–200 block of East Cottonwood Avenue, and 100–400 block of East Hickory Avenue.
These upgrades will improve water quality, increase drinking water capacity, and reduce maintenance issues caused by frequent leaks and breaks in the outdated pipes. The project complies with DWSRF eligibility criteria and is designed to avoid adverse environmental or cultural impacts. This effort underscores the Authority’s commitment to enhancing water infrastructure for the Enid community.
Lori Johnson, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the Authority’s customers will save an estimated $1,560,400 over the life of the 4-year loan compared to traditional financing. The DWSRF loan will be secured with a lien on the revenues of the Authority’s water, sewer, and sanitation revenues, a 2- cent sales tax and may include a mortgage on the water and sewer systems.
Enid Municipal Authority officials attending the OWRB’s monthly meeting in support of the loan application included City Manager Jerald Gilbert. “It is a pleasure to be here on behalf on Enid. We are a big user of these programs because without these programs we wouldn’t be able to replace waterlines,” said Mr. Gilbert. “Today this $6M project will replace 6 lines in 7 different locations. Enid has been around for about 125 years, and we have some old stuff that needs to be replaced and we couldn’t do it without the assistance of this program. It is a fantastic program. “
“I appreciate the continued support of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board as we strengthen our infrastructure in Enid,” said Rep. Chad Caldwell, R-Enid. “The partnership between OWRB and the City of Enidand their combined investments will help ensure Enid continues to provide necessary resources for our community while being well-positioned for future growth.”
Julie Cunningham, Executive Director of the OWRB, and Rob Singletary, Executive Director of the ODEQ, express their sincere appreciation to State Senator Roland Pederson and State Representative Chad Caldwell for their support of the DWSRF program.
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 $2.4 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 $7.7 billion in loans and grants for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements throughout Oklahoma.
