Press Release

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Pushmataha County Rural Water District No. 2 (District) received approval for $1,700,000 in funding 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) where $800,000 of the loan will be in the form of loan forgiveness.

The District will utilize these proceeds for rehabilitation of a booster pump station, replacement of aging pumps, installing a backup generator, and a chloramine disinfection system. Disinfecting drinking water has reduced airborne disease dramatically. However, byproducts which may result by the disinfection can sometimes have unintended effects. Therefore, by addressing this issue, this project helps to meet the public health goals for the state.

Joe Freeman, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the District’s customers will save an estimated $1,417,700 over the life of the 20-year loan compared to traditional financing.  The DWSRF loan will be secured with a lien on the revenues of the District’s water system. District Chairman, Martin Fourkiller, Office Manager, Billie Briggs, and Field Manager, Alan Kight attended the OWRB’s monthly meeting in support of the loan application. Mr. Fourkiller stated, “Thank you to the Board for consideration. This project has been a long time in coming and we’re excited and looking forward to these infrastructure improvements. This will help us get water to more customers.”