The State Water Resources Board agreed this week to make a more than $21 million loan to the city of Broken Arrow for improvements of its water and wastewater infrastructure.
The board approved the $21,305,000 Financial Assistance Program loan which will be used to construct a new pretreatment basin at Broken Arrow’s Verdigris water treatment plant. Property will also be purchased for the installation of a booster pump station at an existing water connection to Tulsa.
The money will also help fund a design of a restoration of a ground water storage tank at Tiger Hill and replace the Lynn Lane trunk sewer line. It will also pay for construction of the County Line trunk sewer line and to buy the right of way for the Elm Creek trunk sewer line.
The announcement by the Water board indicated the loan will be secured with a lien on the revenues of the Broken Arrow Municipal Authority’s water, sewer and sanitation systems and a one cent sales tax.
The Water Board also approved a $48,600 loan to the Haileyville Public Works Authority to improve the authority’s wastewater infrastructure. The planning and design of the upgrades and improvements will be financed by 100% loan forgiveness through the Oklahoma Clean Water State Revolving Fund.
Joe Freeman, Chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division calculated that the Authority’s customers will save an estimated $64,600 over the life of the 10-year loan forgiveness funding, compared to traditional financing.
The CWSRF program is administered by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board with partial funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Oklahoma utilizes the CWSRF 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 $4.09 billion in loans and grants for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements throughout Oklahoma.