WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN—Today, Bryan Steil joined U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler at a press conference announcing a $137 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan to the City of Waukesha to help implement the Great Lakes Water Supply Project.
“Today is the result of years of work from folks across Waukesha County. Thank you to Jim Sensenbrenner, Paul Farrow, EPA Administrator Wheeler, and many others who have worked diligently to ensure our community has safe drinking water. When the federal government listens to our local communities and responds to their needs, we all reap the benefits. This is a win for our health, a win for jobs, and a win for the future of Waukesha. I will continue fighting to bring jobs to Southeast Wisconsin, lower costs on families, and create a healthier community,” said Steil.
“This WIFIA loan will provide the City of Waukesha with a new, safer source of drinking water from Lake Michigan, while saving the City approximately $38 million when compared to typical bond financing,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “In the past three years the Trump administration has invested $38 billion dollars in clean water infrastructure, supporting 7,000 projects, and helping create 21,000 jobs across this great nation. I’m pleased that Waukesha’s residents will now be assured of cleaner water for decades to come.”
On background from EPA:
The Great Lakes Water Supply Project will provide the City of Waukesha with a new, safer source for drinking water. The project includes the construction of infrastructure to obtain, store, and distribute drinking water from Milwaukee Water Works to City of Waukesha customers. It also includes the pumps and pipes needed to return treated wastewater to Lake Michigan via the Root River.
Established by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014, the WIFIA program is a federal loan and guarantee program administered by EPA. WIFIA’s aim is to accelerate investment in the nation’s water infrastructure by providing long-term, low-cost supplemental credit assistance for regionally and nationally significant projects. The WIFIA program has an active pipeline of pending applications for projects that will result in billions of dollars in water infrastructure investment and thousands of jobs.
More information from the EPA on today’s announcement can be found here.
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