U.S. EPA Awards $173.5M For California Drinking Water And Wastewater Projects

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $172.3M to the state of California for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure improvements, and a $1.2M grant to the city of Vallejo for sewer upgrades.

"Investing in water infrastructure with our state partners is a priority for the Trump Administration and ensures communities can deliver safe drinking water and wastewater treatment,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “This funding is critical to supporting public health and environmental goals in California.”

EPA awarded the State Water Resources Control Board a total of $172.3M to capitalize its clean water and drinking water State Revolving Fund programs. These federal funds are supplemented with state funding sources and support California’s water infrastructure needs. Recipients receive low-interest loans for clean water and drinking water projects. As money is repaid to the revolving loan fund, California funds new projects.

“The State Revolving Fund programs allow us to help a wide variety of communities throughout the state,” said State Water Resources Control Board Vice Chair Steven Moore. “But their financial strength and versatility are especially good at helping small and disadvantaged communities that otherwise might not have access to the capital they need to solve their water treatment problems.”

The Clean Water State Revolving Fund received $94.8M to support a variety of water infrastructure improvement projects, including the following:

• Monterey One Water will use an $88M loan to install a new water treatment facility in Monterey County. The facility will treat and reclaim municipal wastewater, urban runoff, agricultural return flows, and food processing wastewater. The purified water will replenish the Seaside Groundwater Basin and provide water to 105,000 people, while reducing the amount of water diverted from the Carmel River.
• The City of Santa Monica will use a $52.9M loan, and $4M in loan forgiveness, to collect and treat municipal wastewater, stormwater, and impaired groundwater. This project will help the city reduce the use of imported water, replenish groundwater supply, increase drought resilience, and improve beach water quality.

The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund received $77.5M for drinking water infrastructure improvements to improve public water systems, including the following:

• The City of Sacramento will use a $173.1M loan to install 36,000 meters on residential and commercial water service connections. Water mains will also be replaced, as needed, as part of the city’s efforts to upgrade 80 miles of water distribution and transmission mains.
• Loma Rica Water Company in Marysville will use a $126,734 loan to replace an existing redwood water tank with a new 36,500 gallon bolted steel tank, ensuring that the 200 people served by the system continue to receive clean drinking water.

EPA has awarded more than $5B to California’s clean water and drinking water revolving fund programs since their inception in 1988 and 1996, respectively. These funds support California’s efforts to address an estimated $70.5B worth of water infrastructure needs.

EPA also awarded a $1.2M Special Appropriation Act Project grant to the Vallejo Flood and Wastewater District to replace a deteriorating force main—a pressurized sewer pipe that transports wastewater. The force main, which crosses the Mare Island Strait, has the potential to severely damage the Napa River and adjoining San Pablo Bay in the event of failure. The replacement sewer pipe will provide long-term reliability in conveying wastewater off the island.

For more information on EPA’s State Revolving Fund programs, visit https://www.epa.gov/drinkingwatersrf

https://www.epa.gov/cwsrf

For more information on Special Appropriation Act Project grants, visit https://www.epa.gov/grants/special-appropriation-act-projects