On July 26 and July 27, EPA closed its third and fourth WIFIA loans. EPA awarded $135 million in financing to the Orange County Water District in California and $699 million to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to assist in funding two important infrastructure projects.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission loan will help finance its Southeast Treatment Plant Biosolids Digester Facilities Project. This project replaces its outdated biosolids digester facilities with modern, efficient technology. These new facilities will transform wastewater solids into high-quality biosolids and biogas. Additionally, the new digesters will be located farther away from existing residences, feature advanced odor control, and will be built to be more resilient to earthquakes. This project will also create 3,300 construction jobs.
“Rebuilding our biosolids digester facilities is crucial to realizing our vision to transform San Francisco’s largest wastewater treatment plant into a modern resource recovery facility. With the federal government’s low-cost loan program, we can realize significant savings for our ratepayers and create high quality employment and contracting opportunities in parts of the City that need it most,” said SFPUC General Manager Harlan L. Kelly, Jr.
The Groundwater Replenishment System Final Expansion in Orange County will expand its existing 100 million gallons per day (MGD) Groundwater Replenishment System to produce an additional 30 MGD drought-proof drinking water supply for its service area. The project will replenish the Orange County Groundwater Basin and reduce the need for imported water. Treated wastewater from the Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) Plant 2 will be purified using a three-step process that produces high quality water and then stored in the groundwater basin. The final expansion project will include expanding the existing treatment facility, constructing a pump station, rehabilitating pipelines, and reconfiguring the treatment process.
“This advanced water recycling and groundwater replenishment project will provide Orange County residents and businesses with an additional local drinking water supply,” said Mike Stoker, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “Not only will this project protect local water resources, it will make Orange County more resilient to future droughts.”
The WIFIA program was established by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014 is a federal loan and guarantee program at EPA that 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. WEF was an early advocate before Congress for the creation of the WIFIA program, and is currently advocating for reauthorization of it in 2019.
For more information about the WIFIA program visit: https://www.epa.gov/wifia
