Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act Program

Accelerating investment in our nation’s water infrastructure by providing long-term, low-cost supplemental loans for regionally and nationally significant projects.

On this page:

• About the Program
• Types of Assistance
• How This Program Helps Build Resilience
• Connections to Other EPA, Federal, or Non-Governmental Efforts

About the Program

The Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) of 2014 created a federal loan program at the EPA to accelerate investment in our nation’s water infrastructure. The program provides long-term, low-cost supplemental financing for water and wastewater infrastructure projects of national or regional significance. Eligible public and private borrowers can finance a wide variety of wastewater, drinking water, stormwater, and other water quality improvement capital projects with WIFIA credit assistance. Borrowers applying for WIFIA credit assistance must be creditworthy and demonstrate a reasonable assurance that they can repay the federal government over the loan’s term.

Types of Assistance

The WIFIA programs offers financial assistance that can help borrowers implement water capital improvement projects to help build climate resilience.

Following its annual appropriation, the WIFIA program opens a new selection round and announces the funding available in a Notice of Funding Availability. Each year, the Administrator establishes how projects will be prioritized based on the EPA’s assessment of the critical immediate water risks facing water and wastewater service providers. These priorities, the amount of funding available, and the application process are communicated to the public in the annual notice. Eligible borrowers include local, state, Tribal, and federal government entities; partnerships and joint ventures; corporations and trusts; and the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) programs.

WIFIA financing can fund development and implementation activities for several project categories. These project categories can address climate mitigation and resilience. Categories include:

• Projects eligible for the CWSRF, such as projects to construct and rehabilitate wastewater treatment plants and conveyances, implement state nonpoint source management programs, manage stormwater, reuse or recycle wastewater, and improve security and energy efficiency at treatment plants.
• Projects eligible for the DWSRF, including drinking water treatment, transmission and distribution, consolidation, security, and energy efficiency projects.
• Enhanced energy efficiency projects at drinking water and wastewater facilities.
• Brackish or seawater desalination, aquifer recharge, alternative water supply, and water recycling projects.
• Drought prevention, reduction, or mitigation projects.
• Acquisition of property if it is integral to the project or will mitigate the environmental impact of a project.
• A combination of projects secured by a common security pledge or submitted under one application by a State Revolving Fund program.

How This Program Helps Build Resilience

WIFIA’s project eligibility is broad in scope. The EPA can finance a wide variety of needed capital improvement projects. For example, eligible WIFIA projects include alternative drinking water supply projects, such as desalination, aquifer recharge, and water recycling projects; drought prevention and mitigation projects; stormwater management; and upgrades to treatment plants to increase resilience to extreme weather and address emerging contaminants. These projects can help bolster climate resilience.

Connections to Other EPA, Federal, or Non-Governmental Efforts

The WIFIA program can finance up to 49% of the eligible project costs. In some cases, the CWSRF and the DWSRF finance all or part of the remaining project costs. Therefore, the WIFIA program coordinates closely with both the CWSRF and DWSRF programs.

The EPA has signed memoranda of understanding with the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to coordinate on water infrastructure financing and WIFIA implementation. The WIFIA program also regularly interacts directly with water associations, state and local governments, and other prospective borrowers to promote the program, gain critical feedback on program direction, and to deliver financing to critical water projects.