OKLAHOMA CITY – The Pawnee Public Works Authority (Authority) received approval for $800,000 in funding Tuesday from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) to improve the Authority’s water metering infrastructure. Upgrades to the system will be financed by a 100% principal forgiveness loan through the Oklahoma Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF).
The Authority will utilize the proceeds to replace 970 water meters with advanced metering infrastucture (AMI) readers. This project helps to meet Oklahoma’s Water for 2060 goals by focusing on water conservation and efficiency and reducing unintended flows to the wastewater treatment plant.
Joe Freeman, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the Authority’s customers will save an estimated $1,240,200 compared to traditional financing.
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.
Julie Cunningham, Executive Director of the OWRB, and Scott Thompson, Executive Director of the ODEQ, express their sincere appreciation to State Senator Chuck Hall and State Representative Ty Burns for their support of the DWSRF program.
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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.go
