Feds Give Oklahoma Nearly 40 Million For Water Updates
By Sara Jerome,
@sarmje
Oklahoma is taking home a handful of federal dollars to fix its aging water infrastructure.
The state recently "secured more than $37 million in federal funding for dam improvements...and for water system repairs in communities with aging pipes and treatment plants," Tulsa Public Radio reported.
The money was included in the farm bill signed into law in February. This summer, "federal and state officials gathered at...a dam on Perry Lake, to announce $262 million in funding under the 2014 Farm Bill to rehabilitate or assess the condition of hundreds of dams across the nation, including [millions] for Oklahoma projects. The idea is to make sure these dams, many built more than a half-century ago, are safe and in good condition for the future," The Oklahoman reported.
In addition, over the summer, the EPA "awarded $11.3 million to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board," according to the Journal Record. The money was awarded "for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which, as StateImpact has reported, is a federal program administered by states to help water districts secure loans for expensive upgrades to water and sewer systems," according to Tulsa Public Radio.
Considering the scale of Oklahoma's water infrastructure problem, the funding is still just drop in the bucket. A 2013 report card rating infrastructure needs by the American Society of Civil Engineers said that the state has reported $4.1 billion in drinking water infrastructure needs over the next two decades, along with $1.3 billion in wastewater infrastructure needs.
For more on government oversight, check out Water Online's Regulations & Legislation Solution Center.
Want to publish your opinion?