The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a $441 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan to the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts for wastewater rehabilitation.
The loan will support the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant Effluent Outfall Tunnel Project (“Clearwater Project”), which will combine two aging outfall tunnels into a new 18-foot diameter, 7-mile long tunnel.
“Too many communities across the country rely on outdated and inefficient water infrastructure that puts public health and environmental protection at risk,” said EPA Assistant Administrator Radhika Fox. “This WIFIA investment in LA County will help ensure wastewater infrastructure reliably serves 5 million customers while protecting nearby waters.”
“Every family deserves access to clean drinking water and a healthy environment,” said Congresswoman Linda T. Sánchez (CA-38). “Unfortunately, the tunnels that our community's main sewer system relies on to prevent wastewater from flooding our waterways are nearly a century old and at-risk of failure during severe storms and earthquakes. This funding will be used to replace our aging infrastructure, preventing contamination of our drinking water while creating good-paying jobs right here in our region.”
The two existing tunnels that carry effluent from the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant (the Sanitation Districts’ largest wastewater treatment plant) are beyond their useful life and do not meet current seismic standards. If they fail, the treatment plant might need to discharge sewage into surrounding waterways.
The Clearwater Project project will combine the two aging outfall tunnels into one new 18-foot diameter, 7-mile-long tunnel designed to current seismic standards. It will have sufficient capacity for the high flows experienced during major storms. By completing this project, the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts will ensure reliability for a sewerage system that 5 million people in Los Angeles County depend upon.
“The Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts are very appreciative of the WIFIA Loan received from the EPA,” said Robert Ferrante, Chief Engineer and General Manager of the Sanitation Districts. “This loan will help us build infrastructure that is critical for the region and minimize the financial impact on our ratepayers.”
The Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts will save approximately $76 million by financing with a WIFIA loan. Construction is expected to be completed in 2027.
