Chicago Construction News staff writer
More than $571 million water infrastructure loans have been announced for local governments and water districts.
The Illinois EPA State Revolving Fund (SRF) Program provides low-interest loans which fund wastewater, stormwater, and drinking water projects. In total for fiscal year 2023, Illinois EPA issued over $803 million in low-interest loans for water infrastructure. In addition to the SRF loans, Illinois provided nearly $54 million in funding for lead service line replacement over the last 12 months.
The largest loan – $21.4 million – goes to the City of Greenville to construct a new 3.456 million gallons per day water treatment plant that will consist of a new head tank, three helical flow clarifiers, two recarbonation basins, five filters, a 500,000-gallon clearwell, chemical feed equipment, pumps, piping, controls, and all the necessary appurtenances to make the project complete and operational.
“Clean water is a right—not a privilege. And here in Illinois, we are utilizing every resource at our disposal to ensure our communities have the modernized and safe water infrastructure they deserve,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement. “Thanks to my administration’s bipartisan Rebuild Illinois Capital Plan, we’ve increased state funding for the Illinois EPA’s Water Pollution Control Loan Program and Public Water Supply Loan Program—providing low-interest loans for wastewater, stormwater, and drinking water projects, all while creating and supporting good-paying jobs.”
Illinois EPA’s SRF includes two loan programs, the Water Pollution Control Loan Program (WPCLP) which funds both wastewater and stormwater projects, and the Public Water Supply Loan Program (PWSLP) for drinking water projects. Both programs provide funding at a low interest rate of just 1.24 percent for State FY23.
“The Illinois EPA’s robust State Revolving Fund allows us to provide communities with the essential funding needed to upgrade, repair, or replace aging water infrastructure,” said Director John J. Kim. “This funding represents clean drinking water for Illinois residents, technology to reduce environmental impacts from stormwater and wastewater, and the creation of good paying local jobs.”
For a complete list recipients, visit https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/grants-loans/state-revolving-fund.html
