Project Description

The SWIFT Program is the first major water reuse initiative on the east coast. It includes more than twenty projects across the service area to upgrade existing treatment works and build wells to inject highly-treated water into the stressed Potomac Aquifer. By replenishing the Potomac aquifer, the program will restore water supply, prevent saltwater intrusion, and mitigate land subsidence related to aquifer withdrawals in coastal Virginia. The program will also improve the quality of the Chesapeake Bay by reducing surface water discharge of treated effluent by approximately 100 million gallons per day (MGD) – 90 percent of Hampton Road Sanitation District’s discharge to the Bay watershed. This is the first loan under a master agreement that will commit $1.05 billion in WIFIA assistance to the Hampton Roads Sanitation District to implement the SWIFT program.

Project Benefits

• Replenishes the overdrawn Potomac aquifer, the primary source of groundwater throughout eastern Virginia, and restores its water supply.
• Protects groundwater from saltwater intrusion and reduces land subsidence.
• Reduces the amount of nutrients and sediments discharged into local waters and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay.
• Saves the Hampton Road Sanitation District an estimated $72.4 million from financing with a WIFIA loan compared to typical market financing.

• Hampton Roads Sanitation District (PDF)(1 pg, 246 K)