Public Works Authority (TPWA)

The Talala Public Works Authority (TPWA) is the Town’s sewer department: it owns and maintains Talala’s public sanitary sewer system. Start with a sewer tap application, report a problem, or read about system status, grants & improvements, and ordinances.

The Authority meets at 5:40 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month at Talala Town Hall, 102 W. Watova St. · Board of Trustees of the Authority · Agendas & Minutes

Applications — new sewer tap

A new connection to the TPWA public sanitary sewer requires a signed Sewer Tap and User Agreement and the $1,250.00 non-refundable tap/connection fee. You can complete the application online and pay by card, or download the official agreement and bring or mail it to Town Hall with cash or check.

Paying the tap fee is not permission to connect. A new connection remains subject to TPWA approval and inspection under Ordinance No. 2024-01. Do not begin work on a tap until the Authority has approved it.

Ongoing water and sewer billing stays with Rural Water District No. 4 of Oologah — call 918-443-2542 for billing and service. The Town does not take utility payments.

Report a problem

Sewer backups, odors, damaged manholes, and similar problems can be reported to the Town online or by phone. Give the address and a short description; staff will route it to the Authority.

Report a problem Call Town Hall · 918-553-5535

For any life-safety emergency, call 911. Town Hall is staffed Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

System status

The Authority assesses the condition of its collection lines two ways: SL-RAT acoustic screening through the Oklahoma Municipal Assurance Group (OMAG), which listens for blockages between manholes without digging or interrupting service, and recurring OMAG CCTV inspection of individual line segments. As of the most recent SL-RAT screening and CCTV work, the majority of the surveyed lines are in good condition. The segments that come back poor or blocked are tracked and prioritized for cleaning, root control, or rehabilitation.

• November 2022 and 2023 — OMAG SL-RAT acoustic assessments of the collection system. The assessment workbook and the 2023 segment map are on file with the Town.
• 2023–2025 — recurring OMAG CCTV memoranda of understanding for camera inspection of sewer lines. TPWA also purchased a push camera in 2024 so staff can inspect lines in-house.
• November 3–5, 2025 — SL-RAT re-check of the system, announced by public notice. The board reviewed the results at its November 10, 2025 meeting.
• December 9, 2025 — minutes record that Rowe reported the lines are in much better condition than they were a few years ago.
• Week of January 5, 2026 — CCTV inspection week. At the January 13, 2026 meeting the board discussed spot repairs that are needed, the use of Dukes Roots for root control, and a usable 6-inch line near the old school that has been located and marked.

Condition records — SL-RAT workbooks and maps, CCTV reports, and the related minutes — are Town records. Ask Town Hall for a copy or file a Records Request. Meeting discussion of inspection results is in the Agendas & Minutes. Call 918-553-5535 with a question about a specific address or line.

Public Notices Alerts

Grants & improvements

Sewer work in Talala is funded largely through state and federal programs administered by regional partners — Grand Gateway Economic Development Association (GGEDA), the Indian Nations Council of Governments (INCOG), the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB), and the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. The Authority has pursued these awards year after year rather than in a single push, and the items below are drawn from public grant and loan records, with the source year noted.

• GGEDA REAP, about 2021 — replacement of roughly 240 feet of clay line with PVC on Cedar Street between Sequoyah and Watova, funded by a REAP award of about $47,000 within a larger project (source: Grand Gateway Economic Development Association REAP records, ~2021).
• OWRB CWSRF loan forgiveness, 2023 — Clean Water State Revolving Fund project ORF-22-0010-CW, with about $88,700 in principal forgiveness, associated with land for lagoon irrigation (source: 2023 CWSRF report).
• CDBG/REAP 22, project #18862 — wastewater treatment plant and collection system work, closed out at roughly $464,000 in total project cost including about $136,000 in federal funds. A closeout public hearing is set for July 2026 (source: project closeout records).
• GGEDA acceptance, 2023–24 — REAP #034-CDBG-2023 — acceptance letter dated February 2023 for an Oklahoma Department of Commerce / Office of Community Revitalization amount of $150,000 for sewer work (source: GGEDA acceptance letter and grant file).
• INCOG REAP FY26, contract 260120 — signed contract with an Amount of Grant of $67,418.57 for town-wide sanitary sewer line replacement and manhole rehabilitation. The engineer’s (Kellogg) preliminary cost estimate for the 2026 line rehabilitation puts total estimated project cost at about $75,000; that figure is an application-stage estimate, not a final construction cost.
• Wastewater treatment plant improvements, ongoing — improvement work at the plant with King Excavating, plus procurement of rip-rap for the Town’s lagoon in August 2026.

Taken together, these are the result of a multi-year grant pursuit by the TPWA board under Mayor Kandy Damron’s leadership: the Authority applies for small-community wastewater funding each cycle, uses inspection results to justify the scope, and stacks awards so the collection system and the lagoon are rehabilitated a segment at a time.

Figures above are as reported by the funding agencies in the years noted and may not reflect final amounts spent. For the current status of any project, or for a project not listed here, call Town Hall at 918-553-5535.

Ordinances & related

Sewer use, connections, and rates are governed by the Town’s Public Works title and by ordinances adopted by the Board of Trustees. Ordinance No. 2024-01 governs sewer tap approval and inspection and is referenced on the sewer tap application; it is not yet posted as a document on this site. Ask Town Hall for a copy, or request one through Records Request. Resolution No. 2024-02 adopts the Town’s sewer regulations and is posted below as a signed PDF.

Board of Trustees of the Authority

The Authority is governed by a board of trustees that meets at 5:40 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month at Talala Town Hall. Member names and bios are on the Authority page.

Authority board & members Agendas & Minutes

Contact

TPWA business is handled at Talala Town Hall, 102 West Watova Street, Talala, OK 74080 (P.O. Box 52, Talala, OK 74080), Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
918-553-5535 · [email protected]

Joining a TPWA tour, work day, or volunteer/community-service activity? Sign the TPWA participation release, waiver and photo/media agreement online — for yourself, or for yourself and your children. Sign the participation release.

Contact Town Hall Participation release Town Hall