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Santa Clara Valley Water District received a boost in their work to increase long-term water storage capacity in the Santa Clara Valley thanks to a $92 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The Santa Clara Valley Water District’s Pacheco Reservoir Expansion Planning and Design Project will assess options to address long-term water storage capacity concerns for customers. The district will utilize WIFIA financing to conduct planning, design, and environmental analyses. The District will also complete soil and geological analyses needed as part of their comprehensive planning and design process. Through this WIFIA financing, the District will evaluate alternatives and complete the planning and design for the complex Pacheco Reservoir Expansion project.
“Climate stress is often experienced as water stress—especially in drought prone regions of the country. EPA is committed to helping the Santa Clara Valley Water District and communities across the country design and build climate-resilient water infrastructure,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox.
The WIFIA program offers planning and design loans to provide low-cost financing to support project development activities so that borrowers can identify preferred options for complicated water infrastructure projects. By financing their planning activities with a WIFIA loan, Santa Clara Valley Water District will save approximately $40 million and create approximately 600 jobs.
“We are incredibly grateful to receive another loan from the WIFIA program,” said Valley Water Board Chair John L. Varela. “These loans reflect the commitment from federal lawmakers to invest in our nation’s water infrastructure and allow Valley Water to finance major projects in a cost-efficient manner.”
Earlier this year, EPA announced $115 million in WIFIA financing to the District to bolster water infrastructure resiliency, including preparing for a seismic retrofit of Anderson Dam.
