Blackwell Municipal Authority
The Blackwell Municipal Authority (Authority) received approval for $16,840,000 in funding Tuesday from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) to improve the Authority’s water and electric infrastructure. The first request was for $3,600,000 financed by the Oklahoma Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) with a second request totaling $13,240,00 funded through the Financial Assistance Program (FAP).
The Authority will utilize the CWSRF proceeds to acquire and replace 3,102 current water and electric meters with Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) equipment and to install an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). This project will help to meet Oklahoma’s Water for 2060 goals by protecting water resources from pollution and encourage water conservation and efficiency while reducing unintended flows to the wastewater treatment plant. The second loan request funded with the issuance of a FAP state loan program revenue bond issue will be for projects to include the construction of a water treatment plant and to lay new water line to an elevated storage tank within the Authority.
Joe Freeman, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the Authority’s customers will save a combined estimation of $1,408,700 over the life of the two loans compared to traditional financing. Both loans will be secured with a lien on the revenues of the Authority’s water, sewer, sanitation, and electric systems, a 1.5 cent sales tax. Blackwell Municipal Authority’s official attending the OWRB’s monthly meeting in support of the loan application was Mr. Jerry Eubanks, Public Works Director. Mr. Eubanks stated during the meeting “An undertaking such as this project takes a huge team and on behalf of the mayor, city manager, myself and the citizens of Blackwell, thank you for considering our loan applications.”
