EPA’s WIFIA loan will support the Tualatin Valley Water District and City of Hillsboro to add seismically resilient water supply capacity
Image: EPA's loan to help in creating seismically resilient water supply for City of Hillsboro. Photo: Courtesy of Rudy and Peter Skitterians/Pixabay
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has agreed to provide a total of $640m (£527m) in loans to Tualatin Valley Water District (TVWD) and City of Hillsboro (COH) to strengthen the water supply capacity.
The loans will include nearly $388m (£319m) to TVWD and $251m (£206m) for COH to fund investments in the Willamette Water Supply System (WWSS). The investments will provide the Tualatin Valley Water District and City of Hillsboro additional seismically resilient water supply capacity.
The present loans are being provided under the WIFIA program, which was established by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014.
WIFIA aims to accelerate investment in water infrastructure by offering long-term and low-cost supplemental credit assistance for regionally and nationally significant projects.
Tualatin Valley Water District CEO Tom Hickmann said: “The WIFIA loan is a positive development for customers and the region.
“The benefits significantly reduce the rate impacts to our customers while simultaneously helping provide an additional water supply that results in protecting public health with a reliable drinking water source and fueling the economy with jobs now and in the future.”
WWSS will include over 48km of water pipes
The WWSS will include intake facilities, over 30 miles (48.2km) of pipes, a water treatment plant and two storage reservoirs to serve 400,000 residents and businesses in Washington County.
To be built with an investment of $1.3bn (£1.07bn), the project is expected to create more than 4,000 jobs during construction and operational phases.
EPA Administrator Andrew Wheelersaid: “EPA’s nearly $640 million WIFIA loans will help ensure that the Tualatin Valley Water District and the City of Hillsboro in Oregon have access to a clean and reliable supply of water that is built to the highest seismic safety standards. These WIFIA loans will also generate significant cost savings for residents and create over 4,000 well-paying jobs.
“Through WIFIA, EPA is playing a leading role in President Trump’s efforts to upgrade our nation’s infrastructure, create jobs, and safeguard public health and the environment. EPA has now issued 11 WIFIA loans under President Trump, totaling nearly $3 billion in credit assistance, to help finance over $6.5 billion for water infrastructure projects and create over 10,000 jobs.”
In July, EPA agreed to provide a $218m (£175m) loan to Silicon Valley Clean Water (SVCW) to finance wastewater infrastructure upgrades.