Newkirk Municipal Authority Receives $2,100,000 Wastewater System Loan From OWRB

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Newkirk Municipal Authority (Authority) received approval for a $2,100,000 loan Tuesday from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) to improve the Authority’s wastewater infrastructure.  Construction of upgrades and improvements to the wastewater system will be financed by the Oklahoma Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF).

The Authority operates a wastewater collection system that has an existing pump and piping at the lift station that is in need of repair. These proceeds will be used to rehabilitate the pump station with new pumps and piping, and replace a mechanical bar screen. This project will allow the Authority to enhance its capacity to handle the wastewater flow more reliably and efficiently to reduce the likelihood of overflows.

Joe Freeman, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the Authority’s  customers will save an estimated $824,800 over the life of the 30-year loan compared to traditional financing.  The CWSRF loan will be secured with a lien on the revenues of the Authority’s water, sewer, sanitation, and electric systems, a 2% sales tax, and a mortgage. City Manager, Ryan Smykil, and consulting engineer, Matt Coe, attended the OWRB’s monthly meeting in support of the loan application. Mr. Smykil stated, “Thank you for the funding consideration. This is an important project for our town as it is the last in a series of lift station improvements.”

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 $2.4 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 $6.5 billion in loans and grants for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements throughout Oklahoma.

“We are grateful to State Senator Bill Coleman and Representative John Pfeiffer for their support of our financial assistance programs,” said Julie Cunningham, Executive Director of the OWRB.