• Public jurisdictions (cities, towns, special districts, county improvement districts, sanitary districts and Indian Tribes)

Note: Federally-owned systems are not eligible. State-owned and county-owned systems are typically not eligible.

• Construction, expansion, upgrade of wastewater treatment plants
• Interceptors, collectors and lift stations
• Upgrade or replacement of failing decentralized wastewater systems
• Septic to sewer
• Recharge facilities; water reclamation and reuse
• Stormwater management - both pipes and green stormwater infrastructure, for permitted MS4s and unregulated MS4s.
• Nonpoint source - a water quality improvement project as described in section 319 of the Clean Water Act. Nonpoint source pollution is polluted runoff that is not regulated by an AZPDES permit and comes from sources such as agriculture, forestry, grazing, septic systems, recreational boating, urban runoff, construction, physical changes to stream channels and habitat degradation.
• Land acquisition - land must be integral to the treatment process, such as infiltration basins or right of ways for stormwater BMPs.

• Land for structures
• Laboratory fees for monitoring
• Operation and maintenance costs
• Privately-owned wastewater treatment systems

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Apply to Project Priority List
Eligible borrowers can submit an application to WIFA for inclusion on the Project Priority List (PPL) at any time. Applications are added to the PPL at the next WIFA Board of Directors meeting. Please use the Applicant Login link on the left side of this screen to complete and submit an application. Once submitted, a project manager and loan officer will be assigned to help guide you through the rest of the application and financing process.

Contact Information
Sara Konrad, Environmental Program Supervisor
[email protected]
(602) 364-1319

WIFA offers its borrowers below-market interest rates. Projects on the PPL are scored to determine the project's financial subsidy (used to calculate reduced combined interest and fee rate). The scoring is based on:

• proposed project's water quality benefits;
• current condition of facilities;
• proposed water quality improvements, particularly those addressing compliance issues;
• water and energy efficiency (green) factors;
• local fiscal capacity which includes median household income, average monthly residential fee and system indebtedness;
• prior planning and design grant or design loan from WIFA for the proposed project.

The PPL serves as a guide for funding decisions by the WIFA Board of Directors and does not determine the order in which projects are funded.

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Once the project is placed on the Project Priority List, the next step is to obtain debt authorization. The requirements for debt authorization depend on the system size:

1. For systems with a population of ≤ 150,000: obtain approval by resolution of the governing body. (View sample debt authorization resolution)
2. For systems with a population of > 150,000: obtain approval by bond election.
3. Sanitary districts have special requirements; please contact WIFA at 602-364-1310 for more information.

For more information on debt authorization, please refer to the WIFA guidance document.

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After debt authorization for a project is obtained, WIFA will work with applicants to complete a Project Finance Application (PFA), which asks for further information about the project, the system and the borrower. After the PFA is submitted, WIFA staff complete an analysis of the application and present the project to the Board for approval. Board meetings are typically held every other month. Click here for WIFA's calendar of Board meetings.

WIFA Loan Application Process

Note:
WIFA funding originates from the federal government under the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act and requires compliance with federal Davis-Bacon Act prevailing wages. Further details on the Davis-Bacon Act and other requirements are available on our Contract Packet web page.

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• Publicly-owned community water systems (cities, towns, special districts)
• Privately-owned community water systems that are regulated by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). Click here for a list of ACC-regulated utilities - https://www.azcc.gov/divisions/utilities/UTILITYLIST.asp
• Non profit non-community water systems that are regulated by the ACC that meet all other WIFA financial assistance requirements.

A community water system is defined as a water system that serves at least 25 people or 15 service connections year round. This classification is determined by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ).

Note: Federally-owned systems are not eligible. State-owned and county-owned systems are typically not eligible.

• Treatment - for example, installation or upgrade of facilities to improve the quality of drinking water to comply with standards.
• Transmission and distribution - for example, installation or replacement of transmission and distribution pipes to improve water pressure to safe levels or to prevent contamination caused by leaks or breaks in pipes. This category also includes meters.
• Source - for example, rehabilitation of wells and development of eligible sources to replace contaminated sources.
• Storage - for example, installation or upgrade of eligible storage facilities, including finished water reservoirs, to prevent microbiological contaminants from entering a public water system.
• Consolidation - projects needed to consolidate water supplies where, for example, a supply has become contaminated or a system is unable to maintain compliance for technical, financial or managerial reasons (may include water rights, if the water rights are owned by a system that is being purchased through consolidation).
• Creation of new systems - projects that, upon completion, will create a community water system to address existing public health problems.
• Land acquisition - only if it is integral to a project that is needed to meet or maintain compliance and further public health protection (i.e., needed to locate eligible treatment or distribution projects, or to protect source water).
• Refinancing debt obligations of publicly-owned systems.

• Projects primarily intended to serve future growth (projects that accommodate a reasonable amount of population growth expected to occur over the useful life of the facility are eligible)
• Projects needed mainly for fire protection
• Laboratory fees for monitoring
• Operation and maintenance costs
• Refinancing debt obligations of privately-owned systems
• Water rights, except if the water rights are owned by a system that is being purchased through consolidation
• Projects for systems that lack adequate technical, managerial and financial capability unless funding will ensure compliance
• Projects for systems in significant non compliance unless funding will ensure compliance
• Dams or rehabilitation of dams
• Reservoirs, except for finished water reservoirs and those reservoirs that are part of the treatment process and are located on the property where the treatment facility is located

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Apply to Project Priority List
Eligible borrowers can submit an application to WIFA for inclusion on the Project Priority List (PPL) at any time. Applications are added to the PPL at the next WIFA Board of Directors meeting. Please use the Applicant Login link on the left side of this screen to complete and submit an application. Once submitted, a project manager and loan officer will be assigned to help guide you through the rest of the application and financing process.

Contact Information
Sara Konrad, Environmental Program Supervisor
[email protected]
(602) 364-1319

WIFA offers its borrowers below-market interest rates. Projects on the PPL are scored to determine the project's financial subsidy (used to calculate reduced combined interest and fee rate). The scoring is based on:

• proposed project's public health benefits;
• current condition of facilities;
• proposed water system improvements, particularly those addressing compliance issues;
• consolidation and regionalization;
• water and energy efficiency (green) factors;
• local fiscal capacity which includes median household income, average monthly residential fee, system indebtedness; and
• prior planning and design grant or design loan from WIFA for the proposed project.

The PPL serves as a guide for funding decisions by the WIFA Board of Directors and does not determine the order in which projects are funded.

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Once the project is placed on the PPL, the next step is to obtain debt authorization. The requirements for debt authorization depend on the system ownership:

1. For private, ACC-regulated drinking water systems: obtain approval of a financing application from ACC.
2. For publicly-owned water systems with a population of ≤ 150,000: obtain approval by resolution of the governing body. (View sample debt authorization resolution)
3. For publicly-owned water systems with a population of > 150,000: obtain approval by bond election.

For more information on debt authorization, please refer to the WIFA guidance document.

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After debt authorization for a project is obtained, WIFA will work with applicants to complete a Project Finance Application (PFA), which asks for further information about the project, the system and the borrower. After the PFA is submitted, WIFA staff complete an analysis of the application and present the project to the Board for approval. Board meetings are typically held every other month. Click here for WIFA's calendar of Board meetings.

WIFA Loan Application Process

Note:
WIFA funding originates from the federal government under the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act and requires compliance with federal Davis-Bacon Act prevailing wages. Further details on the Davis-Bacon Act and other requirements are available on our Contract Packet web page.

 BACK TO TOP