EPA allocates $450 million to improve water infrastructure in four states
(UI) — The federal government has recently allocated over $450 million for water projects in California, Colorado, Florida, and Washington, the Construction Broadsheet reported.
The Polk Regional Water Cooperative (PRWC) in Bartow, Florida, received two Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loans from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) totaling $305 million. These loans will help two initiatives that seek to expand Central Florida's access to safe drinking water.
The Upper Floridan Aquifer, on which the PRWC now depends to provide drinking water to some 635,000 users, has been overburdened, and the cooperative now projects that it won't be able to do so by 2035. The county's proposal to drill into the brackish water of the Lower Floridan Aquifer and purify it using reverse osmosis will be financed by the WIFIA loans, ensuring a fresh supply of drinking water for the area. Reverse osmosis water treatment facilities, distribution pipelines, and extraction and injection wells will be a part of the finished facilities.
The Polk County inhabitants will gain a great deal from the PRWC's ultimate production of more than 10 million gallons per day, which is extendable to water over 22 million gallons per day.
Additionally, the U.S. Interior Department (DOI) used money from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 to spend $152 million in six water projects in California, Colorado, and Washington.
Camille Calimlim Touton, commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, underlined the significance of water in maintaining communities. The investments made by the DOI are intended to boost water storage capacity and provide dependable and clean drinking water while boosting resilience in areas affected by drought.
The Arkansas Valley Conduit project in Southeast Colorado, which will bring treated drinking water to 39 rural towns along the Arkansas River and replace a polluted groundwater supply with clean water supplied from the Pueblo Reservoir, has been given an impressive $100 million in funding.
Additionally, the DOI has given money to several additional water expansion and storage projects in California and Washington, demonstrating the government's dedication to enhancing water infrastructure and ensuring that everyone in the country has access to clean water.
This story was originally published by The Construction Broadsheet.
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