DENVER – Today, at an event with Ogden Mayor Ben Nadolski, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water Mae Wu announced a $42 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan to Ogden City, Utah. This WIFIA loan aims to help the city replace aging water pipes to reduce leaks and save millions of gallons of water daily.
“Safe and reliable drinking water is essential to healthy and secure communities. I want to congratulate the residents and businesses here in Ogden. Your water system is investing in your future through a $42 million loan to upgrade water pipes and save over 2 million gallons of water per day,” said EPA Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water Mae Wu. “Through this loan program and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Biden-Harris Administration is partnering with water systems across the country to strengthen drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure while creating good-paying jobs in the process.”
“EPA’s WIFIA loans are helping communities make infrastructure investments that will protect critical water resources in the face of increasing demands and climate challenges,” said EPA Regional Administrator KC Becker. “By taking advantage of EPA’s WIFIA program, Ogden City is prioritizing a safe and sustainable drinking water supply for its residents.”
Ogden City plans to revitalize its water supply system to be more efficient and resilient, with an added benefit of releasing more water into the Ogden River, which feeds the Great Salt Lake. With this WIFIA loan, the city intends to replace two aging, leaking water lines—the Wellfield water line that conveys groundwater to the Ogden City Treatment Plant and the Ogden Canyon water line that transports treated drinking water to communities.
“On behalf of Ogden City, we’d like to thank the Environmental Protection Agency and the Utah State Legislature for supporting this critical project that will ensure clean, safe drinking water for generations to come. Keeping our water infrastructure sound as well as financially feasible is imperative to the sustainability of Ogden City and surrounding communities,” said Ogden City Mayor Ben Nadolski.
“Investing in this critical water pipeline will save not only millions of gallons of drinking water each day but also protects surrounding waters including Pineview Reservoir, Willard Bay, and the Great Salt Lake. It’s exciting to see this project push forward so it can benefit Utah families,” said Rep. Calvin Musselman (R-West Haven).
The EPA’s WIFIA loan will provide low-cost, flexible financing that will save Ogden City $5 million on this critical project. Additionally, $34 million in federal funding through the Utah Drinking Water State Revolving Fund will support this project. Construction associated with this effort is expected to create over 1,200 jobs.
Since its creation, EPA’s WIFIA program has announced over $20 billion in financing to support projects across the country that strengthen water infrastructure. In total, projects supported by WIFIA are creating approximately 150,000 jobs.
Learn more about EPA’s WIFIA Program and 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 aiming to accelerate investment in national water infrastructure by providing long-term, low-cost supplemental credit assistance for regionally significant projects. The program has an active pipeline of pending applications resulting in billions of dollars in investment and thousands of jobs.
The EPA is currently in its seventh selection round for WIFIA financing offering $6.5 billion through WIFIA and $1 billion through SWIFIA—a loan program exclusively for state infrastructure financing authority borrowers—and accepting letters of interest for both programs.
In addition to WIFIA loans, many federal funding resources are available for communities and utilities aiming to improve vital water resources under initiatives like Biden-Harris Administration's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
