Rural Water District No. 1 receives $1M water system funding from OWRB

OKLAHOMA CITY –  Logan County Rural Water, Sewer and Solid Waste Management District No. 1 (RWS & SWMD) received approval Tuesday for $1,000,000 in funding 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 Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) along with $347,000 in local funds.

The District will utilize the proceeds to construct a 350 gallon per minute (gpm) booster pump station and elevated storage tank which will provide an increase in water volume and pressure during peak demands for residents and businesses in the District.

This project will help meet the State of Oklahoma’s Water for 2060 goals.

The tower will be at their location which is located at 5113 South Sooner Road.

Joe Freeman, Chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division calculated that the District’s customers will save an estimated $169,000 over the life of the 20-year loan, compared to traditional financing. The DWSRF loan will be secured with a lien on the revenues of the District’s water and wastewater systems.

Logan County RWS & SWMD No. 1 officials attending the OWRB’s monthly meeting in support of the loan application included Marilyn Barton, Chair, Robert ‘Buddy’ Thompson, District Manager, David Wyatt, from WDB Engineering, and Stuart England, from Floyd Law Firm.

Barton stated, “Thank you for the consideration of this loan. Safe drinking water is the foundation of public health.”

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 $1.25 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 $4 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 Oklahoma State Legislature for continued support of the DWSRF program.