El Reno Municipal Authority receives $7,500,000 loan from the OWRB for water system improvements
OKLAHOMA CITY – El Reno Municipal Authority (Authority) received approval for a $7,500,000 Financial Assistance Program (FAP) loan Tuesday from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) to improve their water infrastructure.
The Authority will use the funds to renovate an existing water treatment plant. This will include repair of the aerator tower, install a raw water meter at the plant, install a new claricone, and repair a recarbonation basin vault. This project will also remove and replace filters, rehabilitate the chemical feed room, replace backwash meters, plant controls, pumps, sample lines, filters, and existing claricones as well as upgrade the water distribution building.
According to Joe Freeman, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, the Authority’s customers will save an estimated $1,212,619 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 and sewer system, and a one (1) cent sales tax. An El Reno representative shared, “The City of El Reno thanks the OWRB staff for their hard work on this project and appreciates the Board for their consideration.”
Since 1983, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board has approved over $5.4 billion in loans and grants for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements throughout Oklahoma.
“We are grateful to State legislators from the El Reno metro area for their support of our financial assistance programs,” said Julie Cunningham, Executive Director of the OWRB.
