Six North Dakota Communities Awarded Water Infrastructure Loans

Six new loans from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund have been awarded to cities and water districts aiming to upgrade treatment facilities, expand capacity, and replace aging systems. Here’s the full update from state officials.

— Official News Release, ND Public Finance Authority —

BISMARCK, N.D. – The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) program, jointly administered by the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality and the North Dakota Public Finance Authority, has awarded six loans since March.

• East Central Regional Water District received an $8.6 million DWSRF loan to expand drinking water treatment capacity at the City of Hillsboro water treatment plant. This project will remove iron and manganese through filtration and reverse osmosis technology, ensuring safe and reliable water for all customers.
• Mandan was awarded a $4.5 million DWSRF loan for phase 3 optimization of its water treatment plant. The city also received a $1.9 million loan to replace aging water mains in an area of town prone to excessive water main breaks. These projects will help the city save on maintenance costs and improve water service.
• Portland was granted a $1.9 million DWSRF loan to replace the existing 50,000-gallon water tower with a new 150,000-gallon water tower. They will also improve the distribution system by adding looping to four different sections of the water system to ensure adequate water flow to all residents.
• Surrey was granted a $242,000 DWSRF loan to replace a water main that runs under the railroad tracks as a part of a city-wide sanitary sewer and road replacement project. This upgrade will help the city save on maintenance costs and improve water service.
• West Fargo was granted a $750,000 DWSRF loan to replace aging water mains in the Westwood Addition. This will reduce maintenance costs and improve water service for the city.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides part of the DWSRF programs’ funding, which offers below-market interest rate loans to political subdivisions for financing projects authorized under the Safe Drinking Water Act. DWSRF programs operate nationwide to provide funding to maintain and improve the infrastructure that protects our vital water resources.

Loans are awarded to projects listed on the project priority list based on project eligibility determined by the Department of Environmental Quality and the Public Finance Authority’s review of repayment ability.

The Public Finance Authority is overseen by the North Dakota Industrial Commission, consisting of Governor Kelly Armstrong as chairman, Attorney General Drew H. Wrigley, and Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring.