The city of Broken Arrow has been approved for a nearly $28 million loan through the Oklahoma Water Resources Board to improve the city’s water and wastewater infrastructure. The Broken Arrow Municipal Authority (BAMA) evaluates its utility infrastructure annually to ensure it is delivering safe drinking water and maintaining proper municipal wastewater treatment for its customers.
Loan Details
The loan will be used to fund 15 projects for fiscal year 2027 and is secured with a lien on revenues of BAMA’s water, sewer and sanitation services and a 1-cent sales tax. Broken Arrow officials attended OWRB’s recent monthly meeting in support of the loan application.
“This is a massive investment in Broken Arrow’s critical infrastructure that will meet residents’ needs while also supporting growth as more people discover what makes this city so great,” said state Sen. Christi Gillespie (R-Broken Arrow). “Without this financial support from the state, the city couldn’t afford some of the necessary improvements and extensions to our water systems. Reliable water and wastewater services are the foundation of any growing city, and these improvements will ensure Broken Arrow is prepared for a bright future.”
BAMA serves populations in both Tulsa and Wagoner Counties and has about 42,000 water connections and 40,000 sewer connections. BAMA said it owns and operates water and sewer systems that are aging and the proposed projects will, “address issues throughout the city with both planning and design for future work as well as construction to address the most critical portions of the systems.”
Project Plans
Some of the funds will be used to perform planning and design, including any property needed acquisition, on two sewer and three water projects. The sewer projects will be planning and design for improvements to the existing Haikey Creek lift station, adding a new primary lift station at the Haikey Creek site, and manhole and sewer line rehabilitation and replacement to address inflow and infiltration issues in certain areas.
The water projects will be planning and design for waterline improvements including designing a new waterline loop on Garnett Avenue from S. 128th East Ave. to Tucson Street; planning and design for rehabilitating and upsizing the waterline on Elm Place from New Orleans Street to Washington Street; and planning and design for rehabilitating and upsizing the waterline on Washington Street from Elm Place to Aspen Avenue.
BAMA said the loan funds will also pay for construction — including any property acquisition — on five sewer projects and two water projects. The sewer projects include rehabilitating and upsizing the Haikey Creek Trunk Line, rehabilitating and upsizing the Elm Creek Trunk Line, rehabilitating the Turnberry and Dresser Rand lift stations, and expanding or eliminating the Windsor lift station as recommended by the findings of a current ongoing study.
The water projects will include waterline improvements in the Old Town area of Broken Arrow and construction of the waterline loop from Florence Street to the Creek Turnpike.
Original reporting: Broken Arrow Sentinel — read the source article.
