EPA Approves $87 Million WIFIA Loan to the City of Joliet, Illinois, to Help Transition City’s Drinking Water Supply
Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved an $87 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan to help the City of Joliet, Illinois, transition its drinking water supply from ground water to water from Lake Michigan. EPA’s WIFIA program provides a powerful financial tool that can significantly accelerate investments in water infrastructure to protect human health and the environment while saving communities millions of dollars.
“Modernizing and maintaining water infrastructure is essential to ensuring clean and safe water for all Americans and advancing EPA’s Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative,” said EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Water Jessica Kramer. “EPA’s WIFIA program provides a win-win for communities and American taxpayers. Communities use these competitive loans to upgrade water infrastructure to benefit residents and businesses while loan payments reimburse the U.S. Treasury.”
The loan will help transition the city’s drinking water supply from a stressed and unsustainable aquifer. Projects will include upgrading the distribution system to reduce water loss as the city prepares to begin using water from Lake Michigan. This is the third WIFIA loan for the city under an agreement that will provide a total of $395 million in financing. EPA will work with the recipients to formally close loan agreements.
Notices of Funding Availability
The first WIFIA Notice of Funding Availability was issued by the first Trump administration. EPA’s 2025 funding initiates the 9th round of financing with $6.5 billion available. Through a separate Notice of Funding Availability, $550 million is available to State infrastructure financing authorities through the State WIFIA (SWIFIA) program. EPA is currently accepting letters of interest for both WIFIA and SWIFIA financing.
For this new round of funding, EPA has identified priority areas that will advance the agency’s Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative, including:
- Ensuring safe drinking water and addressing pollution in our nation’s waterbodies;
- Unleashing American energy dominance;
- Advancing cooperative federalism by supporting local, regional, and state water priorities;
- Supporting innovation in the water sector; and
- Promoting economic growth and furthering America’s industrial resurgence.
Background
Established by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014, the WIFIA program is a federal loan program administered by EPA. The WIFIA program aims to accelerate investment in the nation’s water infrastructure by providing long-term, low-cost supplemental credit assistance for regionally and nationally significant projects. Through its flexible financing features and competitive interest rates, WIFIA helps communities save money. By partnering the WIFIA program’s federal funding with state, local, and private investment, EPA accelerates water infrastructure investment worth billions of dollars.
The WIFIA program’s rolling selection process allows a wide variety of borrowers from across the country to access WIFIA financing. For example, in the last round of funding, the WIFIA program selected two private entities and five small communities to submit loan applications. To date, EPA’s WIFIA program has announced $22 billion to help finance 141 projects across the country. These projects are creating over 160,000 jobs across the country.
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