Drinking Water & Wastewater Projects Funding
Funding Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Projects with the Colorado State Revolving Fund
Does your municipality need funding for drinking water or wastewater infrastructure projects? Colorado’s State Revolving Fund (SRF) has been the leading funder for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects in the state for decades. This low-interest loan program is administered in Colorado by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), and the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority (CWRPDA).
Thanks to the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the SRF has a vastly increased funding capacity through 2026. Approximately $680 million dollars of additional funding will be sent to the Colorado SRF over the next five years, which increases the state’s annual allocation by about 5 times. In addition to providing supplemental funding for normal types of SRF projects, the infrastructure law created special funding pots for the identification and removal of lead service lines, and the remediation of emerging contaminants, particularly forever chemicals perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS/ PFOAS).
New Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding
| Category | Required % as Grant or Loan Forgiveness | CY 2022 | CY 2023 | CY 2024 | CY 2025 | CY 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drinking water supplemental funding | 49% | $35,550,000 | Funding is expected to be similar to CY 2022 for each subsequent year. | Funding is expected to be similar to CY 2022 for each subsequent year. | Funding is expected to be similar to CY 2022 for each subsequent year. | Funding is expected to be similar to CY 2022 for each subsequent year. |
| Wastewater supplemental funding | 49% | $14,236,000 | Funding is expected to be similar to CY 2022 for each subsequent year. | Funding is expected to be similar to CY 2022 for each subsequent year. | Funding is expected to be similar to CY 2022 for each subsequent year. | Funding is expected to be similar to CY 2022 for each subsequent year. |
| Drinking water lead service line funding | 49% | $56,015,000 | Funding is expected to be similar to CY 2022 for each subsequent year. | Funding is expected to be similar to CY 2022 for each subsequent year. | Funding is expected to be similar to CY 2022 for each subsequent year. | Funding is expected to be similar to CY 2022 for each subsequent year. |
| Drinking water emerging contaminants funding | 100% | $14,927,000 | Funding is expected to be similar to CY 2022 for each subsequent year. | Funding is expected to be similar to CY 2022 for each subsequent year. | Funding is expected to be similar to CY 2022 for each subsequent year. | Funding is expected to be similar to CY 2022 for each subsequent year. |
The SRF can provide both small and large loans; recent loans have ranged from $250,000 to $55 million. Colorado local governments, including municipalities, counties, and special districts are eligible applicants. Private non-profits can also use the SRF to finance drinking water projects. There is a broad array of eligible projects including, but not limited to, water and wastewater treatment, distribution/ collection, water and energy efficiency projects, system consolidation, forest health and watershed management, water reclamation and reuse, etc. There are seven application cycles per year to allow for maximum flexibility to meet an applicant’s construction schedule needs. Reduced interest rates, planning grants, design and engineering grants, and loan forgiveness may be available to disadvantaged communities.
While loan forgiveness availability has been limited in previous years, the new BIL funding comes with a requirement to distribute a certain amount of the funding as grants or loan forgiveness, as shown in the table above. This means loan forgiveness will be available to more borrowers and in larger amounts over the next five years. In fact, projects addressing PFAS or emerging contaminants may be eligible for 100% loan forgiveness! Because the BIL requires the loan forgiveness to go to disadvantaged communities, the Colorado SRF has created an expanded eligibility criteria to ensure more applicants are able to access this once-in-a-lifetime funding opportunity, including those that have not previously qualified for disadvantaged community benefits.
All prospective borrowers must be on the SRF eligibility list. The list is generated from a survey that is conducted in June each year by CDPHE. Once a borrower is on the eligibility list, the funding process starts with a pre-qualification meeting to verify borrower and project eligibility, outline program requirements, and align program deadlines with the applicant’s project needs. After the pre-qualification meeting, the borrower will be guided by their SRF project team through the program requirements, including the submission of a project needs assessment, environmental review, and design review, that must be completed prior to loan application. Most borrowers are able to move from pre-qualification meeting to loan application in 6-18 months depending on the borrower and the complexity of the project.
To learn more about the State Revolving Fund or to start the funding process, please contact the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment project manager for your region: https://cdphe.colorado.gov/glu. We look forward to working with you!
Upcoming events to talk about BIL funding:
Wednesday September 14, 2022 Special District Association of Colorado (SDA) in Keystone, CO in person.
https://www.sdaco.org/2022-conference
Presentation at 2:15 pm – 3:15 pm
Thursday September 22, 2022 “Building Resilience in Your Water/Wastewater System” Local Assistance Unit (LAU) CDPHE in Steamboat Springs, CO, in person, 9:00am- 2:00 pm. Register here for this FREE training: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdto0TVD0BnKGuLoFvgLTQUQD-mwwypwmdCDwfA0oVzd1a4Jg/viewform
SRF presentation at 1:00 pm.
Thursday October 6, 2022 at 2022 Western Colorado Water & Wastewater Conference in Grand Junction, CO https://www.rmsawwa.org/page/WCWWC
Thursday December 8, 2022 “Building Resilience in Your Water/Wastewater System” Local Assistance Unit (LAU) CDPHE in Colorado Springs, CO in person, in person, 9:00am- 2:00 pm. Register here for this FREE training: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSckpcfr8huWxHcT5JsdIEZRxVu1WzoUWnfasC66yAFIaRjz3w/viewform
SRF presentation at 1:00 pm.
CWRPDA is one of 28 local partners that support the Water Information Program which provides balanced water educational programs and content to southwest Colorado. Thank you!