Biden-Harris Administration Announces $276 Million for Water Infrastructure in California Through Investing in America Agenda
SAN FRANCISCO – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $3.6 billion in new funding under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to upgrade water infrastructure and keep communities safe. Combined with $2.6 billion announced earlier this month, this $6.2 billion in investments for Fiscal Year 2025 will help communities nationwide make essential water infrastructure upgrades to safely manage wastewater, protect local freshwater resources, and deliver safe drinking water to homes, schools, and businesses.
These Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds will flow through the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (CWSRF and DWSRF), a long-standing federal-state water investment partnership. This multibillion-dollar investment will fund state-run, low-interest loan programs to address key challenges in financing water infrastructure. Today’s announcement includes allotments for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Clean Water General Supplemental funds for California ($177,966,000), Clean Water Emerging Contaminants funds ($15,362,000), and $82,428,000 under the Drinking Water Emerging Contaminants Fund.
This funding is part of a five-year, $50 billion investment in water infrastructure through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – the largest water infrastructure investment in American history. To ensure investments reach communities that need them the most, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law mandates that most funding announced today must be provided to disadvantaged communities through grants or forgivable loans.
“Access to clean drinking water and dependable wastewater infrastructure is fundamental to the quality of life for all people in California and throughout America,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “This investment, through unprecedented funding from the Biden-Harris Administration, will be instrumental in upgrading water infrastructure and supporting local jobs, economic resiliency, and long-term sustainability for communities throughout the Pacific Southwest.”
“California is taking bold action to modernize the state’s water infrastructure to better serve communities and build resilience to intensifying climate impacts,” said California Governor Gavin Newsom. “We thank the Biden-Harris Administration for this investment, which gives a major boost to our ongoing work to expand access to safe drinking water, support wastewater projects in disadvantaged communities, and secure water supplies now and into the future."
EPA’s Water Technical Assistance program is designed to level the playing field by providing historically excluded, disadvantaged communities the capacity building and assistance needed to effectively identify water challenges, develop infrastructure upgrade plans, and apply for funding. Communities seeking Water Technical Assistance can request support by completing the WaterTA request form. These efforts also advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative, which sets the goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities, who continue to be disproportionately harmed by underinvestment, over-pollution, and lack of equitable funding.
To read stories about how unprecedented investments in water from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are transforming communities across the country, visit EPA’s Investing in America’s Water Infrastructure Storymap. To read more about additional projects, see EPA’s recently released Quarterly Report on Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funded Clean Water and Drinking Water SRF projects.
For more information, including the state-by-state allocation of 2025 funding and a breakdown of EPA SRF funding available under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, please visit the Clean Water State Revolving Fund website and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund website. Additionally, the SRF Public Portal allows users to access the Drinking Water and Clean Water SRF programs’ interactive reports, dashboards, and maps.
The State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs have been the foundation of water infrastructure investments for over 30 years, providing low-cost financing for local projects across America. SRF programs are critically important for investing in the nation’s water infrastructure. They are designed to generate significant, sustainable water quality and public health benefits nationwide. Their impact is amplified by the growth inherent in a revolving loan structure, in which principal and interest payments on loans become available to address future needs.
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