EPA Announces $251 Million WIFIA Loan to Upgrade Aging Drinking Water Infrastructure and Advance Water Reuse in California

 

EPA Announces $251 Million WIFIA Loan to Upgrade Aging Drinking Water Infrastructure and Advance Water Reuse in California

September 18, 2026

Contact Information

EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)

 

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a $251 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan to the Las Virgenes-Triunfo Public Financing Authority in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, California, to make improvements to several drinking water treatment plants. This loan will advance water reuse technologies to help address aging infrastructure and increase capacity to meet the community’s current and future water demands while strengthening resilience to droughts and wildfires.

“In April, EPA launched the Water Reuse Action Plan 2.0 to expand strategic opportunities to reuse water in ways that strengthen American industry, energy and economic growth, and local drinking water supplies,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Jess Kramer. “I am thrilled that Las Virgenes-Triunfo Public Financing Authority is using EPA’s $251 million WIFIA loan to advance water reuse. This project not only bolsters local drinking water supplies during every-day and extreme conditions, it also reduces demand on water from northern California that can be used for agriculture and other uses.”

“This is a transformational milestone for our region,” said Andy Coradeschi, Chair of the Las Virgenes-Triunfo Public Financing Authority. “The Pure Water Project is not just about infrastructure but rather securing a sustainable and drought-resistant future for our 105,000 customers. We are deeply grateful to the EPA, and we look forward to bringing our water full circle.” 

EPA’s WIFIA loan is a critical piece of the Las Virgenes-Triunfo Public Financing Authority funding strategy for the Pure Water Project (PWP) that will bring the Las Virgenes – Conejo region its first local supply of water. The PWP will construct an advanced water purification facility to purify recycled water from western Los Angeles and eastern Ventura Counties. Through these improvements, the Authority will be able to reduce the impact of drought by providing a local, reliable, more affordable water supply and increase system reliability and their ability to respond to emergencies and supply outages.

Furthermore, the PWP advances the goals of EPA’s Water Reuse Action Plan (WRAP) 2.0 by being a leading example of advancing water reuse to strengthen key sectors of the U.S. economy. In this case, this project will reduce demand on water from northern California, increasing supplies for central California farmers.   

EPA’s WIFIA program provides flexibility through the ability to defer principal payments for several years after substantial completion of construction, which will save the Las Virgenes-Triunfo Public Financing Authority $13.6 million over the life of the loan and reduce water bill impacts for its customers.  

EPA’s WIFIA program provides a powerful financial tool that accelerates investments in water infrastructure to protect human health and the environment while saving communities millions of dollars through its flexible financing features and competitive interest rates. Since issuing its first loan in 2018, EPA’s WIFIA program has announced $24 billion to financing water infrastructure projects that are strengthening drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure while creating over 175,000 jobs. 

WIFIA funding is available to support additional water infrastructure projects: up to $6.5 billion is available to water systems and another $550 million is available to state infrastructure financing authorities. EPA is currently accepting letters of interest. 

Learn more about EPA’s WIFIA Program and water infrastructure investments, including how to submit a letter of interest.

Background    

Established by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014, the WIFIA program is a federal loan program administered by EPA. The WIFIA program aims to accelerate investment in the nation’s water infrastructure by providing long-term, low-cost supplemental credit assistance for regionally and nationally significant projects. The WIFIA program has an active pipeline of pending applications for projects that will result in billions of dollars in water infrastructure investment and thousands of jobs.