News Releases from Region 06

EPA improves drinking water systems in New Mexico with over $11 million

DALLAS – (Dec. 6, 2019) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently awarded over $11 million to New Mexico to help finance drinking water projects in the state. This funding will directly benefit local communities while improving public health and the environment.

“Communities across New Mexico will enjoy cleaner water thanks to this funding,” said EPA Regional Administrator Ken McQueen. “We are commitment to ensuring people have access to safe drinking water.”  

The State Revolving Funds (SRFs) play an integral role in EPA’s efforts to help communities replace or upgrade aging or inadequate drinking water infrastructure through low-interest loans. In 2018, EPA awarded nearly $270 million to SRFs in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas; more than $2 million to tribes in Region 6; and more than $5.8 million to the North American Development Bank to support infrastructure projects in the U.S./Mexico border area. This level of funding was facilitated through EPA’s contribution of $2.2 billion to the state revolving funds in 2018.

The SRF requires state match, loan repayments and interest. With more than 30 years of federal capitalization grants and state contributions, approximately $80 billion has been invested into these programs. According to the agency’s estimate of national drinking water and wastewater needs, over $743 billion is needed for water infrastructure improvements. Through loan repayments and investment earnings, the SRFs have leveraged these contributions to provide more than $170 billion in financial assistance to over 39,900 water quality infrastructure projects and 14,500 drinking water projects across the country.

For more information, visit https://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/drinkingwatersrf

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