Broken Arrow Municipal Authority receives $4,200,000 loan from the OWRB for water system improvements
Broken Arrow Municipal 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 lay approximately 30,000 feet of water line throughout the city and for consulting and software to convert from an Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) system to an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system.
Joe Freeman, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, acknowledged key benefits for the Authority as the ability to lock into a low interest rate while not be required to fund a debt service reserve fund. The FAP loan shall be secured with a lien on the revenues of the Authority’s water, sewer, and sanitation systems and a one cent sales tax. Broken Arrow’s Finance Director, Cindy Arnold, stated, “We appreciate all OWRB has done for Broken Arrow Municipal Authority and value the partnering success. “
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 legislators from the Broken Arrow metro area for their support of our financial assistance programs,” said Julie Cunningham, Executive Director of the OWRB.
