Stephens County Rural Water District No. 3 receives $190,889 grant for wastewater system improvements
OKLAHOMA CITY –The Stephens County Rural Water District No. 3 (District) received approval for $190,889 in funding Tuesday from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) to improve the District’s wastewater infrastructure. Construction of upgrades and improvements to the wastewater system will be financed by the Oklahoma American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant program and $190,888 in a bank loan.
The District owns and operates a wastewater lagoon system. Flooding in 2014 and 2015 caused dike erosion and issues with the lift station and internal lagoon piping. The proposed project is to fix eroding dikes on all cells, repair 8 butterfly valves, replace 2 pumps control panel, and add a telemetry system that includes high water manhole alert system.
Joe Freeman, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the District’s customers will save an estimated $295,800 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 $7.4 billion in loans and grants for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements throughout Oklahoma.
“We are grateful to State Senator Chris Kidd and State Representatives Marcus McEntire and Brad Boles for their continued support of our financial assistance programs,” said Julie Cunningham, Executive Director of the OWRB.
“We are appreciative that the OWRB found our district 3 wastewater facility request to be merited. The facility was damaged by flooding around 10 years ago and we are relieved to receive the funding to repair and restore the facility.” Rep. Marcus McEntire - District 50
####
Contact:
Joe Freeman
Oklahoma Water Resources Board
(405) 530-8800
Joe.Freeman@owrb.ok.gov
