Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust receives $1,000,000 grant for dam improvements

OKLAHOMA CITY –The Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust (Trust) received approval for $1,000,000 in funding Tuesday from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) to improve the Lake Overholser dam.  Improvements to the dam will be financed by the Oklahoma American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant program.

The Trust, located in Oklahoma County, owns and operates Overholser dam, which forms Lake Overholser. The dam has been categorized as in “poor” condition. The proposed project includes the planning and design required to replace the dam spillway. The total cost of the project, including construction, is estimated to be between $55,400,000 and $57,400,000. The cost of the planning and design activities will be partially funded by the ARPA grant of $1,000,000 and two FEMA HHPD grants totaling $1,061,600.

Joe Freeman, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the Authority’s customers will save an estimated $1,567,500 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 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 Oklahoma City area for their continued support of our financial assistance programs,” said Julie Cunningham, Executive Director of the OWRB.

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Contact:
Yohanes Sugeng
Oklahoma Water Resources Board
(405) 530-8800
yohanes.sugeng@owrb.ok.gov