The clean water state revolving fund is a wonderful resource for communities across the United States. It was designed to improve water quality that was damaged by various sources of pollution. Cleaning up water pollution is just one reason water supplies and communities need help.
State and local governments are aware of a flexible, low-cost source of funding for water quality projects. Farmers, homeowners, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations should know it is also available to them!
Over $57 billion in low-interest loans for water quality protection projects have been made by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Water State Revolving Fund program. That includes more than 18,600 loans for wastewater treatment, nonpoint water pollution source control, and watershed and estuary management.
Interest rates on Clean Water State Revolving Fund loans average only two per cent nationwide, less than half the market interest rate for similar loans. Over a typical project's payback period, that translates into a 20 per cent interest savings. Loans can fund 100 per cent of a project, and payments can be stretched over up to 20 years.
Nonpoint pollution source control and watershed/estuary protection often run into the problem of determining who should pay, because specific responsible parties and beneficiaries cannot be identified. The Clean Water State Revolving Fund program cuts through this logjam. It funded $370 million worth of nonpoint pollution source control in 2006, and has funded more than $2.4 billion worth of estuary protection to date.
Examples of water quality projects funded by Clean Water State Revolving Fund loans can be found among the EPA's PISCES Award winners:
Greenville Estates Village District (NH), covering a mobile home park, used $1.7 million in Clean Water State Revolving Fund loans to replace failing septic tanks with sewer collection system that delivers wastewater to the city of Greenville. The city cooperated in granting Greenville Estates Village water-district status. The loans were repaid with a combination of federal Rural Development grants and state grants.
An innovative photovoltaic generation system was implemented at a wastewater treatment plant run by New Jersey's Atlantic County Utilities Authority. The electricity generated from sunlight by this project saves the authority at least $115,000 per year, while reducing its oil consumption by 338 barrels and carbon emissions by 660,000 pounds. The project was funded with a $2.1 million Clean Water State Revolving Fund loan and $1.9 million in rebates from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.
Holloway Technology, Inc., of Leesburg FL, used a Clean Water State Revolving Fund loan of $226,693 to help it develop a large-scale irrigation system that uses 20 per cent less water than conventional designs. The closed-loop system has not drawn any water from surface, ground, or aquifer sources since 1998, and produces no runoff. It has saved over 100 million gallons of water to date.
The Clean Water State Revolving Fund program is far more flexible than its predecessor, the Construction Grants program. States have several options for funding their 20 per cent contributions to projects. Loan applicants can be more innovative in their proposals, and a wider range of private sector entities can participate in this powerful funding program. It's a funding option worth applying for if you have an idea to improve water quality.
