Okmulgee County Rural Water District No. 5 Receives $346,936 Water System Loan with Principal Forgiveness from the OWRB
View allOkmulgee County Rural Water District No. 5 Receives $346,936 Water System Loan with Principal Forgiveness from the OWRB
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Okmulgee County Rural Water District No. 5 (District) received approval for a $346,936 loan with 100% principal forgiveness on Tuesday from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) to improve the District’s water infrastructure. Construction of upgrades and improvements to the water system will be financed by the Oklahoma Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF).
The District operates a public water system and will use the funding to replace approximately 370 aging manual-read meters with modern drive-by remote-read meters and to install a new Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, which provides real-time monitoring and operational control. These upgrades will improve the accuracy of water-usmeasurement and help identify leaks or other sources of water loss more quickly. By automating data collection and system oversight, the project will also increase operator efficiency and reduce the time spent on manual tasks. Overall, the improvements will support a more reliable, efficient, and resilient water system for District customers.
Lori Johnson, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the District’s customers will save an estimated $570,800 over the life of the 30-year loan when compared to traditional financing.