Biden-Harris Administration Announces $74M WIFIA Loan To Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency In Santa Cruz

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced two Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loans totaling $74M to the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency in Santa Cruz County, California. EPA’s loan will support alternative water supply projects to reduce the demand for groundwater.

“Investing in local water infrastructure is one of the best bets a community can make to secure a climate resilient future,” said EPA Acting Assistant Administrator for Office of Water Bruno Pigott. “Santa Cruz will see firsthand the benefits of EPA’s work to invest in America while creating 500-plus jobs and saving millions of dollars for the community.

In drought-stricken regions, water utilities look for ways to ensure water supplies are resilient. The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency’s Water Sustainability Projects are improving system resilience by investing this WIFIA loan into projects that will provide alternative surface water supplies and reduce demand on the existing groundwater supply by nearly 25% by 2040. They will achieve this by modifying a naturally occurring lake to create a new seasonal surface water source that will be treated and distributed to customers to offset groundwater demand during the summer months and upgrade the existing filter plant and construct a pump station, recharge basin, and associated pipeline. This project will divert water from nearby shallow lake systems, called sloughs, through recharge basins into shallow aquifers. The recharged water will be provided to agricultural customers for irrigation purposes.

“The closing of these two WIFIA loans provides PV Water with the funding necessary to complete the College Lake Project and partially fund the Watsonville Slough System Project, two important water supply projects that will help PV Water achieve sustainable groundwater resources,” said Pajaro Valley Water Board Chair, Amy Newell.

Since its creation, EPA’s WIFIA program has announced nearly $20B in financing to support over $43B in water infrastructure projects that are strengthening drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure while creating over 140,000 jobs.

The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency is utilizing the financial flexibilities available with WIFIA loans to help keep rates affordable. By financing its projects with WIFIA loans, they will save $24M and create over 500 jobs.

Learn more about EPA’s WIFIA Program and water infrastructure investments under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Background
Established by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014, the WIFIA program is a federal loan program administered by EPA. The WIFIA program aims to accelerate investment in the nation’s water infrastructure by providing long-term, low-cost supplemental credit assistance for regionally and nationally significant projects. The WIFIA program has an active pipeline of pending applications for projects that will result in billions of dollars in water infrastructure investment and thousands of jobs.

EPA made the seventh round of WIFIA financing available and is currently accepting letters of interest for WIFIA and SWIFIA loans. $6.5B is available through WIFIA, and $1B is available through SWIFIA, which is a loan program exclusively for State infrastructure financing authority borrowers. EPA is currently accepting letters of interest for WIFIA and SWIFIA loans. Learn more about submitting a letter of interest for a WIFIA loan.

In addition to WIFIA loans, there are many federal funding resources available for communities and utilities to improve vital water and wastewater resources. President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure and competitiveness. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides a historic $50B investment in upgrading critical water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure.

Learn about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region (https://www.epa.gov/pacific-southwest-media-center).