Broken Arrow Announces Water Improvements

$21.45 million to be spent on water improvements in FY25

A loan agreement with the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) will finance parts of 21 water utility improvement projects in the City of Broken Arrow, totaling $20.2 million.

The low-interest loan will be used for Fiscal Year 2025 Capital Improvement Projects as part of the Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water Programs.

At its Aug. 5 meeting, the Broken Arrow City Council approved Resolution No. 1597, which authorizes the Broken Arrow Municipal Authority (BAMA) to issue, sell, and deliver its Series 2024A Promissory Note to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. It also authorizes the loan's acceptance and the issuance of a promissory note not exceeding $21,450,000.

"The Oklahoma Water Resources Board has been there ever since I can remember, and they are there for the communities to provide safe drinking water and sanitary sewer water for the cities," said City Councilor Johnnie Parks.

11 Clean Water Projects

The program will finance 11 Clean Water projects to improve the sanitary sewer system, totaling just over $12 million.

Two of the projects to be funded through the loan are at the Haikey Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (HCWWTP). The plant services Broken Arrow and Tulsa and is a part of the Regional Metropolitan Utility Authority (RMUA). The RMUA is a joint venture between the cities of Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Jenks, Bixby, and Owasso. Its purpose is to maintain, operate, and provide water supply, wastewater, and pollution control facilities.

One of the HCWWTP projects is a composting facility, that is expected to cost more than $30 million to build. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded $9 million toward the project, which leaves approximately $24 million to be split evenly between the City of Tulsa and the BAMA. The plan is to fund the project with OWRB loans over the next two years.

"We try to look after the environment and the ecology with everything the City does," Parks said. "Really, the water is better when we empty it back into the Arkansas River than when we take it out of the river."

Another 10 projects, estimated to cost $8.2 million, will improve the City's drinking water infrastructure. For example, funds from the Safe Drinking Water (SDW) Loan Program will provide $870,000 to design the Oklahoma Ordinance Works Authority (OOWA)/Grand River Line Connection, which, when the entire project is completed will give the City an additional water source besides the Verdigris River.

The Safe Drinking Water project list also includes a 2-million-gallon (MG) water tank restoration project at Tiger Hill, estimated to cost $1.6 million to design and construct.

For a complete list of projects to be funded through the Clean Water Loan Program and the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program go to $21.45 million for water improvements in FY25.