Muskogee County Rural Water District No. 3 receives $1,000,000 grant from OWRB

OKLAHOMA CITY –The Muskogee County Rural Water District No. 3 (District) received approval for $1,000,000 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.

The District owns and operates a water treatment plant and water distribution system. The system currently has dead-end water lines and areas of low pressure. The proposed project is to install approximately 15,040 linear feet of 6-inch water line to loop the dead-end lines and to construct a new booster pump station.

Joe Freeman, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the District’s customers will save an estimated $1,553,200 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 the Water and Wastewater American Rescue Plan Act grants program. This OWRB program has been structured to provide communities and other eligible entities with the financial resources necessary to address water and wastewater infrastructure needs within their systems. Since 1983 the Water Resources Board has approved over $7.1 billion in loans and grants for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements throughout Oklahoma.

“We are grateful to State Legislators from the Muskogee County area for their continued support of our financial assistance programs,” said Julie Cunningham, Executive Director of the OWRB.

Senator Roger Thompson stated, “As Oklahoma continues to grow and economic opportunities expand, there is a need to improve our water infrastructure. I am thankful to OWRB for their proactive participation in meeting the needs of these communities.” 
 

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