The US Environmental Protection Agency has announced $5.8 billion in funding to improve drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects across the country.
The funding, which the EPA announced on February 20, comes from the Jobs and Infrastructure Investment Act of 2021 (IIJA). It is divided among the 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, tribes and territories.
The EPA said that through 2022, IIJA has provided $21.9 billion for water infrastructure. In total, the five-year measure includes $50 billion for water projects, which EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said is the largest amount in U.S. history.
The new funding supports EPA’s state revolving funds, which have long been a mainstay of federal water infrastructure programs. SRFs provide low-interest loans for infrastructure projects. As the loans are repaid, states can “roll over” them and make new loans.
States provide 20% in matching funds to supplement federal dollars.
EPA divides drinking water SRF funds among states based on their relative needs, as described in EPA’s most recent drinking water report, which was released last September.
Clean water allocations are based on a formula and “are strictly defined by the Clean Water Act,” the agency said.
Of the newly announced total, $3.2 billion goes to drinking water SRFs and $2.6 billion to clean water SRFs, which help fund wastewater and stormwater treatment projects.
Funding distributions are preliminary and correspond to the IIJA fiscal year 2024 total.
In the main category of drinking water funding, the largest recipient among states is California, with $248 million. Texas ranks second, with $183.3 million; followed by New York, with $107.4 million; and Florida, with $82.9 million. Pennsylvania is fifth, with $75.8 million.
In clean water SRFs, New York leads the way, with $253.5 million; California ranks second, with $164.3 million. Ohio is third at $129.3 million, followed by Texas at $105 million and Illinois at $103.9 million.
