Press Release

Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust receives $370,000 funding from OWRB

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust (Trust) received approval for a $370,000 loan Thursday from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) to conduct an emerging contaminant assessment. This process will be financed by a 100% principal forgiveness loan through the Oklahoma Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF).

The Trust owns and operates several wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in and around Oklahoma City and provides wastewater treatment for 1.4 million residents of central Oklahoma. This project is to assess emerging contaminants, specifically Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctyl Sulfonate (PFOS), in four of these WWTPs. The study will include evaluations of the current treatment process on concentrations of contaminants between influent and effluent by sampling data from biosolids testing, collection basins, and influent channels. Expected results will provide the best available technologies to reduce detrimental effects and develop an engineering report for each WWTP. 

Joe Freeman, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the Authority’s customers will save an estimated $487,000 compared to traditional financing.