EPA WIFIA Annual Report Celebrates over $5 Billion in Water Infrastructure Loans
New interactive tool details investments made in communities across the country.
WASHINGTON (March 24, 2022) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the 2021 Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) Annual Report. The report highlights the program’s 2021 investments in water infrastructure to protect public health and the environment, create good-paying jobs, and save communities money over alternative financing options.
“The WIFIA program has been an incredible success, providing more than $5 billion in water infrastructure funding in 2021 to save communities $1.5 billion while creating nearly 40,000 jobs,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “The WIFIA program, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the agency’s other water infrastructure funding programs are building a better America by securing clean and safe water for all.”
In 2021, the WIFIA program closed 31 loans totaling over $5 billion to support nearly $12 billion in water infrastructure projects. At the same time, borrowers saved $1.5 billion and created nearly 40,000 jobs. The WIFIA program continues to broaden its reach by increasing the number of loans to borrowers with lower-rated credit, small communities, and underserved communities. Looking forward, the program has nearly 90 projects requesting over $14 billion in funding.
Additionally, to provide real time information about the WIFIA program, EPA is launching the WIFIA Fund Facts dashboard. This interactive web-based tool includes graphics and facts about closed and pending loans. Users can filter the data to get information by loan size, project type, geographic location, and loan status.
For more information about the WIFIA program, visit: WIFIA.
To access the WIFIA Fund Facts dashboard, visit: WIFIA Fund Facts Dashboard.
Background
Established by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014, the WIFIA program is a federal loan and guarantee program administered by EPA. WIFIA’s aim is to accelerate investment in the nation’s water infrastructure by providing long-term, low-cost supplemental credit assistance for regionally and nationally significant projects. Since inception, EPA has closed 72 WIFIA loans that are investing approximately $13.3 billion in communities across the country to protect public health and the environment while creating over 81,000 jobs.
The WIFIA program has an active pipeline of pending applications for projects that will result in billions of dollars in water infrastructure investment and thousands of jobs.