EPA announces over $200m funding for water infrastructure projects

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced more than $200m in funding for infrastructure projects to protect surface water and drinking water in New England.

The funding, which will be used across Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, assists states, tribes and territories with infrastructure projects to help protect surface water and provide safe drinking water to communities throughout the country.

In 2020, the agency is offering about $1.6bn in new federal grant funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF). More than $120m will be provided to assist the six New England states.

The funding is available for a range of water infrastructure projects, including the upgrade of old wastewater infrastructure. It can also be used to undertake water reuse and recycle as well as address stormwater.

More than $64m in CWSRF grant funding is available to tribes, various US territories and the District of Columbia for infrastructure projects.

In addition, over $1.07bn in new federal grant funding is available for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), including more than $80m to assist the six New England states.

The EPA said the funding can be used for loans that help drinking water systems install treatment for contaminants, enhance distribution systems by removing lead service lines and improve system resiliency to natural disasters like floods.

More than $50m in DWSRF grant funding can be used by tribes, US territories and the District of Columbia to upgrade drinking water systems.

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said: “EPA’s decades-long commitment to water infrastructure has helped provide $180 billion in project financing to over 41,000 water quality infrastructure projects and 15,000 drinking water projects across the country.

“In the past three years, the Trump Administration has accelerated EPA’s investment in infrastructure projects that modernize our nation’s water infrastructure and improve public health and the environment.”