The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded more than $30.8 million to Arizona for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure improvements.
"These funds will be used for numerous local projects that will boost the economy while improving water systems," said Mike Stoker, EPA Pacific Southwest regional administrator. "EPA is committed to investing in local infrastructure to benefit the communities we serve."
EPA awarded more than $30.8 million to Arizona's clean water and drinking water State Revolving Fund programs. These federal funds are supplemented with state funding sources, which together provide low-interest loans for wastewater and drinking water infrastructure projects. As money is repaid to the revolving loan fund, Arizona funds new infrastructure projects.
The state's Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF), which is administered by the state's Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA), received almost $20 million to improve public water systems, including the following:
- The city of Safford has identified 58 mi. of pipeline in its water distribution system that are outdated and failing. The city will relocate existing mains, build upgrades, and rehabilitate other wells.
- The Tierra Buena Water Company will install a centralized arsenic treatment system to address local arsenic issues in the city of Glendale.
The state's Clean Water SRF, also administered by WIFA, received almost $11 million to support a variety of water infrastructure improvement projects, including the following:
- The town of Marana will design and construct a new lift station and force main to convey sewage from the Adonis Neighborhood to the existing town of Marana municipal system. Once the project is completed, the sewage from the neighborhood will be treated at the recently completed Marana Water Reclamation Facility, allowing Marana to reuse the water in various ways.
- The city of Prescott will centralize its wastewater treatment system. Once complete, the system will be able to direct sewage to the recently expanded Airport Wastewater Treatment Plant. The project also will include improvements to several trunk mains and construction of a lift station. Centralization of wastewater treatment will reduce the city's operating and maintenance costs and eliminate odor complaints from the previous Sundog plant.
EPA has awarded more than $693 million to Arizona's clean water and drinking water revolving fund programs since their inception in 1988 and 1996, respectively. These funds support Arizona's efforts to address an estimated $16 billion worth of water infrastructure needs.
For more information, visit epa.gov/drinkingwatersrf, epa.gov/cwsrf and epa.gov/region9/water.
