Ohio EPA provides water loans to City of Akron

Akron will receive two more loans from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to continue upgrading the city’s sanitary sewer and drinking water systems.

The loans will come from the Ohio Water Pollution Control Loan Fund (WPCLF) for planning and designing projects at Akron’s Water Reclamation Facility (WRF).

The first loan of $333,200 will allow the WRF to evaluate anticipated changes in wastewater flows once the city completes construction of combined sewer overflow tunnels and storage basins. The second loan of $1.52m will fund design work for rebuilding the WRF’s final settling tanks.

The Ohio EPA has awarded more than $20m to the city in low-interest loans for infrastructure improvements in 2013.

Since 1989, more than $6bn has been awarded in below-market financing by the WPCLF for sewage treatment plant upgrades and other water quality improvement projects, saving borrowers more than $1.1bn in interest.

Low-interest loans have also been provided to municipalities and individuals for agricultural best management practices, home sewage system improvements, contaminated site cleanup and landfill closures.

The Ohio EPA manages the loan program with assistance from the Ohio Water Development Authority (OWDA), which provides financial management of the fund. The Ohio EPA is also responsible for programme development and implementation, individual project coordination, and environmental reviews of projects seeking funds.