EPA Gives $143M In Loans To Peninsula Water Agency For Upgrades

REDWOOD CITY, CA — Silicon Valley Clean Water, which serves the Peninsula, will receive $143 million in federal loans for water system upgrades as part of a package of Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loans from the Environmental Protection Agency.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan announced the loans in Redwood City on Tuesday. One loan worth $69 million will go towards a sewer conveyance upgrade project, and the second $74 million will support upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant.

The loans will save Silicon Valley Clean Water approximately $133 million and create 2,400 jobs, according to a news release. The agency serves the communities of Belmont, Redwood City, San Carlos and the West Bay Sanitary District.

“Investing in water infrastructure has proven time and again to deliver a multitude of benefits, including building climate and drought resilient water systems, safeguarding public health, and creating good paying jobs," Regan said in a news release. “Today's announcements embody the promise of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, which will broaden the scope of these powerful benefits for communities across the nation.”

The EPA also announced a $25 million to the Oro Loma Sanitary District in the East Bay.

“We are immensely grateful and proud of the partnership SVCW has with EPA, a collaboration that has allowed SVCW to lead the industry with innovative and sustainable capital improvement projects,” said Silicon Valley Clean Water General Manager Teresa Herrera in a news release. “We look forward to our continued alliance by advancing our shared commitment to the protection of public health and our environment for generations to come.”