Learn about Oklahoma Water Resources Board, including Featured News, Projects, The Team, Our Funding Programs, and Our Mission Statement and Strategic Narrative.
The OWRB's mission is to protect and enhance the quality of life for Oklahomans by managing and improving the state’s water resources to ensure clean and reliable water supplies, a strong economy, and a safe and healthy environment.
Our primary duties and responsibilities include water use appropriation and permitting, water quality monitoring and standards, financial assistance for water/wastewater systems, dam safety, floodplain management, water supply planning, technical studies and research, and water resource mapping.
Wagoner Public Works Authority receives $5,040,000 loan from the OWRB for system improvements
Wagoner Public Works Authority (Authority) received approval for a $5,040,000 Financial Assistance Program (FAP) loan Tuesday from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) to improve their system infrastructure.
The Authority has a city-wide stormwater conveyance and regional stormwater detention plan. These proceeds will be used to address six different stormwater projects in the city.
According to Joe Freeman, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division the Authority’s customers will save an estimated $1,067,500 over the life of the 30-year loan compared to traditional financing. The loan shall be secured with a lien on the revenues of the Authority’s water, sewer, sanitation, electric, and stormwater systems. An Authority representative stated, “On behalf of the citizens of Wagoner, we would like to express our appreciation for your consideration of our proposed loan. We have used the OWRB loan programs almost exclusively for the last 20 plus years and feel that has been very much to our benefit.”
Since 1983, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board has approved over $5.3 billion in loans and grants for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements throughout Oklahoma.
“We are grateful to State Senator Kim David and Representative Kevin McDugle for their support of our financial assistance programs,” said Julie Cunningham, Executive Director of the OWRB.
Guymon Utilities Authority receives $4,200,000 loan from the OWRB for water system improvements
Guymon Utilities Authority (Authority) received approval for a $4,200,000 Financial Assistance Program (FAP) loan Tuesday from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) to improve their water infrastructure.
The Authority will utilize the proceeds to engineer, design, and construct two 500,000-gallon water storage tanks and one elevated 300,000-gallon water storage tank.
According to Joe Freeman, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, the Authority’s customers will save an estimated $698,700 over the life of the 30-year loan compared to traditional financing. The loan shall be secured with a lien on the revenues of the Authority’s water, sewer, and gas systems and a one cent sales tax.
Since 1983, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board has approved over $5.3 billion in loans and grants for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements throughout Oklahoma.
“We are grateful to State Senator Casey Murdock and Representative Kenton Patzkowsky, for their support of our financial assistance programs,” said Julie Cunningham, Executive Director of the OWRB.
Duncan Public Utilities Authority receives $26,450,000 in funding from OWRB
The Duncan Public Utilities Authority (Authority) received approval for a $26,450,000 in loan funding Tuesday from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB). The first request was for $16,200,000 financed by the Financial Assistance Program (FAP) with a second request totaling $10,250,000 funded through the Oklahoma Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF).
The Authority will utilize the FAP proceeds to replace water lines throughout the system and for water treatment plan improvements. The second loan approval, funded through the CWSRF program, will be used for the installation of an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system and to replace approximately 13,000 water meters and 9,600 electric meters with automatic readers. The new meters will allow for the Authority to better monitor and bill for water and electricity used by its citizens, ultimately reducing the amount of water and energy consumed. This project helps to meet Oklahoma’s Water for 2060 goals by focusing on water conservation through a reduction of unintended flows to the wastewater treatment plant and is recognized under Oklahoma’s Nonpoint Source Management Plan for improved energy efficiency, which helps reduce atmospheric deposition of mercury into nearby waterbodies.
Joe Freeman, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the Authority’s customers will save a combined estimation of $3,719,800 over the life of the two loans compared to traditional financing. The loans will be secured with a lien on the revenues of the Authority’s water, sewer, sanitation, and electric systems and a one cent sales tax. An Authority representative stated, “On behalf of the citizens of Duncan, we would like to express our appreciation to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. The Board’s loan programs have helped manage the costs to upgrade the City’s water and wastewater infrastructure. We would particularly like to thank the OWRB staff for their hard work and assistance.”
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 $2.0 billion in water quality 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 $5.3 billion in loans and grants for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements throughout Oklahoma.
“We are grateful to State Senator Jessica Garvin and Representative Marcus McEntire for their support of our financial assistance programs,” said Julie Cunningham, Executive Director of the OWRB.
Agency's Executive Director
The Oklahoma Water Resources Board's (OWRB) Financial Assistance Division assists communities in their efforts to protect and conserve Oklahoma's water resources for current and future generations through cost-effective financial products, technical assistance, and high quality customer service. To find more information, please visit here.
Loan Programs:
The CWSRF loan program is funded by EPA capitalization grants, state matching funds, and bonds. The CWSRF is administered by the OWRB. The interest rate is approximately 60% of AAA market rate with 40% savings through federal subsidy.
The DWSRF loan program is funded by EPA capitalization grants, state matching funds, loan repayments, investment earnings, and bonds. The DWSRF is co-administered by the OWRB and the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ). The interest rate is approximately 70% of AAA market rate with 30% savings through federal subsidy.
The OWRB's state loan revenue bond program offers long term, variable interest rate funding with a fixed rate conversion option. This low interest rate is based on the OWRB's AAA credit rating.
Grant Programs:
The Emergency Grant Program is a point-based program designed to assist communities facing crises which threaten life, health, or property.
The REAP Grant Program is a point-based program designed to assist smaller communities that lack sufficient fiscal capacity. Cities, towns, and municipalities with a population less than 1,750 are given priority. Rural water and/or sewer districts with less than 525 non-pasture customers are also given priority.
