The McCurtain County Rural Water District No. 8 receives $2,000,000 grant for water system improvements

OKLAHOMA CITY –The McCurtain County Rural Water District No. 8  (District) received approval for $2,000,000 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 along with $4,000,000 of Congressionally directed funds.

The District owns and operates a water treatment plant and water distribution system serving over 2,500 connections in McCurtain County. The distribution system watermain currently has not been able to keep up with the increasing population in the area. The proceeds will be utilized to replace the watermain with approximately 56,000 linear feet of 12-inch watermain.

Joe Freeman, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the District’s customers will save an estimated $3,097,400 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 Senator George Burns and State Representative Eddy Dempsey for their continued support of our financial assistance programs,” said Julie Cunningham, Executive Director of the OWRB.

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