Intended Use Plan for FY-2012 - Water Resources Board - State of ...

OCWP Community Impact Measure ProjectFour Oklahoma communities receiving American Recoveryand Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds for water/wastewaterprojects through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund(CWSRF) participated in a pilot study to measure the specificimpacts of infrastructure investments. The initial phase ofthe study, which was jointly funded through OCWP and U.S.Environmental Protection Agency ARRA monies, focusedon the personal and professional opinions of 36 civic leaders,water professionals, and citizens in Ardmore, Grove, Piedmont,and Norman.of their infrastructure investments. When completed, it is alsoexpected to be a beneficial tool for communities consideringfuture infrastructure projects.The end result of the Community Impact Measure Projectwill be a computer model which will allow decisions makersto better articulate the benefits of infrastructure investmentsthrough OWRB as well as other financing programs. It isFaculty and graduate student researchers from the Universityof Oklahoma interviewed each of the participants regardingthe benefits gained through local water and wastewaterinfrastructure projects. The interview data were then compiledand evaluated according to the following perceived benefits:economic growth, property value increases, waterborne illnessreduction, recreational benefits, energy savings, phosphorusreduction, greenhouse gas emission reduction, quality of lifebenefits, sustainability, and monetary savings to citizens (fromusing the SRF program and from not delaying projects).This close-up look at the effects of water/wastewaterinvestment allowed researchers to determine whatmattered most to stakeholders about water and wastewaterinfrastructure. The result was a report outlining the measuresin a way where they could be used by local leaders to assesscompeting projects and community priorities and carry oninformed dialog with citizens about them.Phase II of the project, which began in July of 2010, expandsthe opportunity to evaluate the benefits of infrastructureinvestments of Oklahoma communities that receivedassistance through ARRA. The evaluation tool will be in theform of a computer program which will allow communities toself-quantify the social, economic and environment benefitsRehabilitation of a lift station at the Norman WastewaterTreatment Plant to increase maximum pumping capacity. This$8.5 million project, funded through CWSRF ARRA, includedenlargement of the existing flow equalization basin, a pumpstation, an emergency generator, associated yard piping, andelectrical and instrumentation improvements. The new facility willhelp eliminate five existing pumping stations in northern Norman.During the Community Impact Measure Project, communitystakeholders in Norman were asked about the overall benefitsgained from these types of infrastructure investments.expected that the model will be field tested using ARRAcommunities during the Summer of 2011 and available for useby the public in Fall 2011.Water is crucial to the social, economic, and environmental well-being of any community, yet theconsiderable impacts of water and wastewater infrastructure investments are often not well understoodby citizens and even civic leaders. While it is generally accepted that those investments provide varioussocial, environmental, and economic benefits, the specific impacts have never before been measureduntil now...9