Los Angeles receives $224M WIFIA loan

Today at a virtual event, California and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials announced a $224 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan to the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation. The funds will help finance a project to purify wastewater and replenish the San Fernando Basin to bolster precious groundwater resources throughout the drought-stressed region.

The City of Los Angeles’s Donald C. Tillman Advanced Water Purification Facility (AWPF) will turn the city’s wastewater into a sustainable water source to replenish the region’s groundwater and increase its resiliency to drought. Daily, 15.5 million gallons of the city’s wastewater will be purified and used to replenish the San Fernando Basin and its aquifers. EPA’s WIFIA loan will help finance construction of the AWPF and related infrastructure.

“This mega-drought in the west is a forceful and persistent reminder that bold action is needed to protect our communities and address the climate crisis,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox. “We see water infrastructure projects — like the Donald C. Tillman Advanced Water Purification Facility — as central to climate resiliency and we commend our state and local partners for this project.”

The $224 million WIFIA loan will finance nearly half of the project’s costs, which totals around $458 million. The remaining project costs will be funded by revenue bonds and borrower cash. This WIFIA loan is expected to save the City of Los Angeles approximately $81 million in interest costs. Project construction and operation are expected to create an estimated 1,400 jobs and construction is expected to be completed in 2027.