water infrastructure

A rural sociologist at the University of Oklahoma found that investments in water infrastructure have positive impacts on rural communities—but they may require some patience.

Hundreds of Oklahoma cities, towns and rural water districts applied for competitive grants to fund water and wastewater projects. The Oklahoma Water Resources Board has announced 76 communities across the state that are likely to receive that money and released a list that ranks all the applications by funding priority.

The Cherokee Nation is using COVID-19 relief funds to build a new water tower in the town of Roland, which sits on the tribe’s land near the Arkansas border.

President Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law just over a year ago, allocating over $50 billion to improve drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure across the country.

Unreliable access to drinking water has left people in Beggs scrambling for much of the month of November.

As the state legislature doled out nearly $2 billion in federal pandemic relief funds last week, about a quarter of that money went to water infrastructure projects.

Leaky pipes disrupted the water supply to Checotah, Lake Eufaula State Park, and parts of McIntosh County in eastern Oklahoma heading into the holiday weekend, and officials are still recommending caution.

The Cherokee Nation and Indian Health Service say they’re funding projects to bring clean drinking water and safe wastewater treatment to Cherokee Nation citizens.

Black Mesa State Park in the Oklahoma panhandle is without water while its well undergoes repairs. But even through this summer’s heat, drought and water problems, state park visitation remains high.

A multinational company that manages public water systems in Oklahoma has a pattern of water quality violations. And no one outside the company knows how many of Oklahoma’s 1,600-plus water systems they’re managing.