Cleveland County commits $3.5M in ARPA funds to rural water infrastructure

Jeff Elkins, The Norman Transcript, Okla.
Updated ·4 min read

Mar. 5—NOBLE — Cleveland County leaders say a recent $3.5 million allocation of American Rescue Plan Act funds will improve current operations of Rural Water District No. 1.

County Commissioners anticipate the obligation of those funds, approved for commitment at their meeting Monday afternoon, will improve operations and ultimately service, to rural residents.

Rural Water District No. 1, located east of Lexington, is required to supply water at a reasonable pressure to all existing customers along its 35 miles of line currently in operation, according to a news release from the office of the commissioners.

"We did not have a real water district with any pipes in the ground that supplied water to residents in the Cleveland County area prior to March 7 2019," said Richard Murnan, board chairman of the Rural Water District.

The district is financially supported by residents who complete the membership process and pay a membership fee, which covers installation of a water meter on their property. Members pay a minimum charge each month to retain their membership, plus pay for any water used during the month, according to a presentation given by Murnan at Monday's board of commissioners meeting.

Commissioner Rod Cleveland said this commitment aligns with the board's goal to use federal relief funds to benefit people, infrastructure and the economy.

"Safe clean drinking water will boost the local economy," Cleveland said in a statement earlier this week.

Water usage increased considerably during the height of COVID-19, as families worked and learned from home more often. In 2022, area residents consumed nearly 19 million gallons of water, with the city of Lexington accounting for 80% of that usage, officials said.

Murnan said the funds were a crucial need to "serve the growing demand placed on the system by Lexington."

"Few things are as important to basic health and life as affordable, clean drinking water," Commissioner Darry Stacy said in a statement. "Using ARPA dollars for critical water infrastructure that will improve public health and economic outcomes is a win-win situation."

Officials indicated the district desperately needs to limit its water loss due to flushing requirements caused by dead-end lines.

Commissioner Rusty Grissom said the project will reduce water waste by eliminating that flushing protocol, in addition to electrical cost savings.

Grissom said the environmental impacts of the improvements will be minimal since they "will be completed along county rights-of-way that have already been disturbed."

According to the release, Lexingtons water usage underscores the need for an additional water well and storage facility.

"Construction for the existing rural water system was completed in 2019," Murnan said. "In order to complete the construction within budget, it became necessary for many lines within the district to be constructed as dead-end lines.

"These Phase 1 improvements will loop these lines in the most efficient manner possible, along with the addition of a water well and water storage facility to support increased usage."

Phase 1 upgrades include adding a new groundwater production well to the three wells currently in operation, a new 100,000 to 500,000-gallon water storage tank, construction of 11 miles of new water distribution mains throughout the system, system modifications to incorporate the new tank and well, and installation of a portable generator at rural water district Well No. 1, according to the district.

Murnan said the generator will enable the district to operate a minimum of two wells during power outages.

With the rural areas of the county expected to see moderate growth over the next 40 years, Murnan said he's hopeful that additional funding will help with an eventual Phase 2, which would connect multiple rural water districts and "regionalize the system to the north."

Rural water district officials are currently pursuing funding from state and federal sources for Phase 2, which would extend access to potable water to the unincorporated areas south of Noble, where four existing communities would become new customers for the district, according to the board of commissioners release.

Murnan said Phase 2 is trying to reach smaller communities that are currently dealing with arsenic and uranium in their well supply sourced from the GarberWellington aquifer, a major source of drinking water for central Oklahoma.

According to the State Department of Environmental Quality, concentrations of arsenic, chromium, selenium and uranium in regions of the aquifer sometimes exceed the maximum contaminant level.

Murnan urges rural Cleveland County residents sourcing drinking water from private wells to test their water with a sample kit for $60.

According to the department, the kit is obtained by contacting the environmental laboratory at 405-702-1000 or emailing selsd@deq.ok.gov. The turnaround time for results is around two weeks.