Three Allamakee County communities among those awarded low-interest loans for water quality projects
The Iowa Finance Authority and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources recently announced that 58 Iowa communities have received a total of more than $171 million in low-interest loans through the State Revolving Fund to assist in advancing water quality projects. State Revolving Fund Construction Loans are a low-cost construction financing option available for Iowa cities and municipalities for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. Planning & Design Loans are zero percent loans that assist with the first-phase of project expenses.
Among those awarded communities are three from Allamakee County, all of those awards being designated to assist in funding projects involving each community’s sanitary sewer infrastructure. The City of New Albin was awarded $175,000 and the City of Waukon was awarded $658,000 for planning and design of new wastewater treatment plants in each of those communities, and the City of Postville was awarded $489,000 for a sanitary sewer rehabilitation project.
“The State Revolving Fund has loaned more than $3.4 billion to more than 600 Iowa communities to date and we look forward to helping to advance many more water quality improvements,” said Iowa Finance Authority Interim Executive Director Carolann Jensen.
“The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is proud to partner with the Iowa Finance Authority to provide communities with affordable, accessible financing that will allow them to move pertinent water quality projects forward,” said Iowa Department of Natural Resources Acting Director Bruce Trautman.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides annual capitalization grants to states. Leveraged bonds and loan repayments expand the reach of the federal investment. More than $3 in assistance has been leveraged for Iowa water quality projects for every $1 of federal funds.
The State Revolving Fund has awarded Iowa communities and municipalities with more than $3.4 billion in Construction Loans and more than $198 million through Planning & Design Loans since the program’s inception. The low-interest loans have saved communities millions of dollars in interest. More information is available at IowaSRF.com.
The Iowa Finance Authority administers the State Revolving Fund (SRF) in partnership with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The SRF assists communities with the costs of upgrading or constructing local wastewater and drinking water infrastructure projects.
