Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust receives $75,261,000 water system funding from OWRB
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust (Trust) received approval for $75,261,000 in funding Tuesday from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) 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 Trust will utilize the proceeds to complete four rehabilitation and upgrade projects at the Hefner and Draper water treatment plants, rehabilitate the Atoka intake tower, replace the Atoka pump station’s balancing tank, make electrical improvements to a booster station, and replace water lines between NW 10th and Main Street along Penn Avenue. The project will help to ensure water quality and pressure is maintained in the system and that the treated water meets federal drinking water standards for customers of the Trust.
Joe Freeman, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the Authority’s customers will save an estimated $11,587,400 over the life of the 30-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 systems. Will Huggins, Deputy Director of Utilities Management attended OWRB’s monthly meeting in support of the loan application included. Mr. Huggins shared, “Thank you for approving our project. It covers several different components while renewing several critical aspects of our water system.”
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 $2.2 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 $7.1 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.
"Few things are more vital for government to deliver than safe drinking water. This funding will help the city of Oklahoma City do just that and I am grateful to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board for granting it." Representative Forrest Bennett
####
Contacts:
Joe Freeman
Oklahoma Water Resources Board
(405) 530-8800
Joe.Freeman@owrb.ok.gov
Candy Thompson
Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality
(405) 702-8100
Candy.Thompson@deq.ok.gov
