The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded more than $20.8 million to Nevada for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure improvements.
“These funds will be used for 30 local projects that will boost the economy while improving water systems,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Mike Stoker. “EPA is committed to investing in local infrastructure that will benefit the communities we serve.”
EPA awarded about $20.8 million to Nevada’s clean water and drinking water State Revolving Fund programs. These federal funds are supplemented with state funding sources, which together provide low-interest loans for wastewater and drinking water infrastructure projects. As money is repaid to the revolving loan fund, Nevada funds new infrastructure projects.
“The State Revolving Fund programs are a critical resource for communities of all sizes throughout the state,” said Nevada Division of Environmental Protection Administrator Greg Lovato. “Communities can obtain funding for water and wastewater needs that maintain health, reduce water loss in the arid desert, prevent pollution in our natural resources, and sustain economic vitality in Nevada's growing economy.”
The state’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) received $12.9 million for drinking water infrastructure improvements to public water systems including:
The City of North Las Vegas will receive an SRF loan to install approximately 87,000 Advanced Meter Reading (AMI) water meters for 338,000 residents within the Las Vegas Valley. AMI meters allow for a two-way communication with the customer and the City to reduce leaks and non-revenue water loss in the arid desert.
The Big Bend Water District will construct a riverbank filtration well near its current surface water intake from the Colorado River in Southern Nevada. Significant precipitation events affecting the Colorado River system have, at times, overwhelmed the existing filtration process, resulting in periodic drinking water health warnings for the 9,000 local residents and businesses. A riverbank filtration well is a natural, sustainable solution to remove contaminants as the river recharges the groundwater, reducing potential health concerns during extreme weather events.
The state’s Clean Water SRF received almost $8 million to support a variety of water infrastructure improvement projects, including the following:
Douglas County will receive a loan to upgrade and expand its existing wastewater treatment facility. The upgrades will help the county provide improved treatment and increased capacity for their 6,057 residential, industrial and commercial users, as well the ability to meet federal permit requirements. As a result of the upgrade, the county will provide reused water for irrigation purposes, thus reducing its dependency on source water.
The town of Hawthorne, Nevada will design and build a water treatment wetlands facility for the community of 3,020, including the Hawthorne Army Ammunition Depot. The new wetlands will use a green infrastructure approach to improve nitrogen removal, reduce groundwater degradation and improve the local treatment facility’s ability to meet effluent quality permit requirements.
EPA has awarded more than $444 million to Nevada’s clean water and drinking water revolving fund programs since their inception in 1988 and 1996, respectively. These funds support Nevada’s efforts to address an estimated $8.4 billion worth of water infrastructure needs.
For more information on EPA’s State Revolving Fund programs, visit: www.epa.gov/drinkingwatersrf and www.epa.gov/cwsrf
