Water Utility Management

EPA discusses WIFIA at Water Week roundtable

April 15, 2025

EPA's Jessica Kramer joined a roundtable during Water Week to discuss WIFIA, emphasizing its role in accelerating water infrastructure investments and benefiting communities.

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Senior Advisor for Water Jessica Kramer joined a roundtable to discuss the Water Infrastructure Financing and Innovation Act (WIFIA) during the week of April 6, 2025, as part of Water Week – when water professionals gather to discuss priority issues impacting the industry.

“Through this low-cost loan program, EPA is accelerating investments in water infrastructure that support healthy Americans while creating jobs and reducing the cost of living,” said Kramer in an EPA press release. “It is inspiring to hear from practitioners around the country about the incredible work they are doing to benefit the American public. I want to congratulate each of these water executives for delivering multiple benefits to their communities, and I look forward to more progress in the coming years.”

EPA holds roundtable with water systems for Water Week — Roundtable participants discuss WIFIA funding for critical water infrastructure in communities. From left to right: Tony Parrott, Louisville & Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District; Karen Jassoy, Padre Dam Municipal Water Department; Andrew Sawyers, EPA; Jessica Kramer, EPA; Todd Swingle, Toho Water Authority; Laurie Horridge, Narragansett Bay Commission; Joshua Schimmel, Springfield Water and Sewer Commission; Susan Pekarek, Johnson County Wastewater; and Paul Matthews, Tualatin Valley Water District. Photo courtesy of EPA.

The roundtable included seven existing WIFIA borrowers.

The Narragansett Bay Commission in Narragansett, Rhode Island, and the Toho Water Authority in Kissimmee, Florida, have used multiple WIFIA loans for relatively large-scale projects in their communities. With WIFIA loans, the Narragansett Bay Commission is upgrading its wastewater infrastructure to address combined sewer overflows, protect water quality, and increase system reliability. The Toho Water Authority received WIFIA loans to rehabilitate and replace sewer mains and manholes, as well as incorporate new potable and non-potable water supply sources to offset groundwater demand.

Other roundtable participants included East County Advanced Water Purification Joint Powers Authority in California, which is using a WIFIA loan to help fund a water reuse project that will meet up to 30% of East San Diego County’s drinking water demand. The Tualatin Valley Water District and the City of Hillsboro in Oregon are working together to increase drinking water capacity and enhance water system reliability in case of an earthquake. The Metropolitan Sewer District in Jefferson County, Kentucky, is upgrading its water quality treatment center to process wastewater and generate Class A biosolids for productive reuse. In Johnson County, Kansas, they are using a WIFIA loan to rebuild aging infrastructure to meet future water quality requirements. And in Springfield, Massachusetts, a WIFIA loan is helping to accelerate dozens of water infrastructure projects and ensure reliable drinking water and wastewater to customers.