U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Oklahoma State Director Kenneth Corn announced today that the Biden-Harris Administration is investing more than $10 million to replace water systems for the Sardis Lake Water Authority.
Funding for these projects were made available through USDA Rural Developments Water and Wastewater Grant. This investment will allow the water authority to bring their water infrastructure up to today’s standards and provide the communities in Pushmataha County with safe and reliable water. USDA will provide more than $7.5 million in grant and more than $2.5 million in loan to the water authority.
“Access to safe and reliable drinking water in rural communities has become a more urgent issue that the Biden-Harris Administration has tackled head on with more than $88 million committed to rural Oklahoma water infrastructure via USDA Rural Development funding in the last four years alone,” Corn said. “Investing in our neglected rural and tribal communities not only provides these communities with much needed infrastructure investment, but it also creates an economic ripple everyone in Oklahoma benefits from.”
Funding for this project is also being provided by the Choctaw Nation, $6.4 million, and the State of Oklahoma through the American Rescue Plan Act, $2.8 million.
“Oklahoma is fortunate to have leaders like Chief Gary Batton and his leadership council with the Choctaw Nation,” Corn said. “With the support of our Tribal partners in Oklahoma, USDA and President Joe Biden have made a tremendous impact in delivering clean drinking water in Rural America that will positively impact the lives of so many Oklahomans and Tribal community members for decades to come.”
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the leadership of the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit https://www.rd.usda.gov/ok.