Boynton, Bristow To Receive Water System Upgrade Funds

OKLAHOMA CITY – The State Water Resources Board (OWRB) has announced financing for two projects aimed at meeting the needs of Oklahoma’s rural communities

The Boynton Public Works Authority in Muskogee County received approval for an $85,000 Emergency Grant to improve the Authority's infrastructure efficiency, and the Bristow Municipal Authority in Creek County received approval for a $9,100,000 loan to improve their water and wastewater infrastructure

The Boynton Authority purchases water from the town of Haskell which buys water from the city of Muskogee. Muskogee has reduced the amount of chlorination in their water to reduce disinfection by-products resulting in the water not meeting chlorination requirements once it reaches the Authority. To address these requirements, Boynton will use the grant funds to construct a chlorination station near the water connection with Haskell. The total estimated cost of the project is $100,000 which will be funded with the requested Emergency Grant of $85,000 and local funds of $15,000.

Joe Freeman, Chief of the OWRB's Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the grant will save the Authority's customers $153,000 in principal and interest charges by not having to borrow the project funds. Since 1983 the Water Resources Board has approved over $4.7 billion in loans and grants for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements throughout Oklahoma.

Boynton's Mayor, Leanette Hutchinson, commented, "This grant for a new updated chlorine station will help us provide safe water to our customers."

In the second grant, the Bristow Municipal Authority (Authority) received approval for a $9,100,000 loan to improve the Authority's water and wastewater infrastructure. Construction of upgrades and improvements to the water and wastewater system will be financed by the Oklahoma Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF).

The Authority will use the funds to install a solid state meter system and to expand their wastewater treatment center. The plant work will include new sequential batch reactors, ultraviolet disinfection, headworks, and a lab and control building with a new control system.

With the installation of the meter system and upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant, the amount of effluent being discharged into Little Deep Fork Creek will be reduced. Additionally, 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 $1,263,000 over the life of the 20 year loan compared to traditional financing. The CWSRF loan will be secured with a parity lien on the revenues of the Authority's water, wastewater, and sanitation systems and a 4% sales tax.

Representatives of the City of Bristow expressed an "appreciation for (the Board's) consideration of our loan application. The City recognizes the significant economic advantages of the Board's financing programs and more importantly, the assistance of the Board's staff in the loan application process."

The CWSRF program is administered by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board with partial funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The CWSRF program has provided approximately $1.8 billion in water quality loans to provide communities the resources necessary to maintain and improve the infrastructure that protects our valuable water resources statewide.

Concluding the announcements, Julie Cunningham, Executive Director of the OWRB, also thanked State Senator James Leewright, (R-12), and State Representatives Kyle Hilbert, (R-29), and Scott Fetgatter, (R-16), for their continued support of water and wastewater infrastructure funding, and OWRB’s financial assistance programs.

Since 1983, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board has approved over $4.7 billion in loans and grants for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements throughout Oklahoma.