Clean Water State Revolving Fund

The Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program is a federal-state partnership. WIFA is the administrator for Arizona's CWSRF program, providing communities a permanent, independent source of low-cost financing for a wide range of water quality infrastructure projects.


Under the CWSRF, WIFA provides various types of assistance, including loans, refinancing, purchasing, or guaranteeing local debt and purchasing bond insurance. Our loan terms vary and may include an interest rate discount and repayment periods of up to 30 years*. WIFA tailors all loan terms to the borrower's situation and needs. 

*repayment period cannot exceed the useful life of infrastructure financed. For example, if a project has a maximum useful life of 15 years, the loan term cannot exceed 15 years. 

Eligibility criteria

Who can apply and what can it fund

  • Eligible borrowers

    Public Jurisdictions* can apply for Arizona's CWSRF program, these include:
    • Cities
    • Towns
    • Special Districts
    • County Improvement Districts
    • Sanitary Districts
    • Tribal Entities

    Ineligible applicants for the CWSRF:
    • Federally owned systems
    • State owned systems*
    • County owned Systems*

    *these borrowers are typically ineligible but in some cases, they may partner with an eligible borrower. Please contact us for more details.

  • Eligible projects and expenses

    The following are commonly eligible projects or expenses under the CWSRF program:

     

    • Wastewater treatment plants - construction, expansion, upgrade, rehabilitation
    • Interceptors, collectors and lift stations
    • Upgrade or replacement of failing decentralized wastewater systems
    • Septic to sewer
    • Recharge facilities; water reclamation and reuse
    • Stormwater management - both pipes and green stormwater infrastructure, for permitted MS4s and unregulated MS4s.
    • Nonpoint source - a water quality improvement project as described in section 319 of the Clean Water Act. Nonpoint source pollution is polluted runoff that is not regulated by an AZPDES permit and comes from sources such as agriculture, forestry, grazing, septic systems, recreational boating, urban runoff, construction, physical changes to stream channels and habitat degradation.
    • Land acquisition – only if integral to the treatment process, such as infiltration basins or right of ways for stormwater BMPs.

    The following expenses or project types are ineligible:

    • Land for structures
    • Operation and maintenance costs including laboratory fees for monitoring
    • Privately-owned wastewater treatment systems
    • Operation and maintenance costs
    • Collection lines to serve new subdivisions
    • Projects primarily serving or future growth 

  • Unsure of your eligibility?

    We have staff available during normal business hours to answer these questions. If you'd like to speak with someone, please contact us at (602) 364-1310 and we'll be happy to help. Staff are available Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM. As a state agency we are closed for observed holidays.

Application and Scoring

The first step towards funding your project

  • Where do I apply?

    You can add your project to our Project Priority List (PPL) by using our online application tool. Once your application is submitted, you'll be assigned a project manager and fiscal services representative to help you through the rest of the process. 

    If you have any questions before or during the PPL process, please feel free to contact us at (602) 364-1310 and we'll be happy to help. 

  • What is the Project Priority List (PPL)

    The Project Priority List is the first step in our application process. We use the initial details you provide in this process as an initial eligibility screening for your project. Additionally, we use other details you provide us to calculate some estimated financial benefits including forgivable principal, technical assistance, and rate subsidy. Adding yourself to our PPL also allows us to assign the project manager  for your region and assign a fiscal services representative. The assigned individuals will provide 1:1 assistance to you throughout the process. 

  • What's the application process?

    We have a full detail of the CWSRF application process and requirements listed here. 

Additional Requirements

General and CWSRF specific requirements

  • American Iron and Steel (AIS)

    The American Iron and Steel (AIS) provision requires Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) assistance recipients to use iron and steel products produced in the United States. This requirement applies to projects for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public water system or treatment works.

     The AIS provision is a permanent requirement for CWSRF treatment works projects. The America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 amended the Safe Drinking Water Act to extend the AIS provision for DWSRF projects through the Fiscal Year 2023.

    Some WIFA projects are deemed exempt from AIS requirements, contact our office for more details.

    US EPA American Iron and Steel Requirements

  • Davis-Bacon Related Acts

    CWSRF and DWSRF projects must comply with federal Davis-Bacon regulations. That means all construction workers on SRF projects must receive Davis-Bacon wages, and those wages must be verified. Borrowers will be responsible for Davis-Bacon compliance. Some borrowers may qualify for help through our Technical Assistance Program with the Councils of Governments (COG). The cost of hiring a contractor to assist with Davis-Bacon is reimbursable with SRF loan funds. The Department of Labor (DOL) is responsible for Davis-Bacon rules and regulations.

     

    EPA Davis-Bacon Act Guidance

  • Cost and Effectiveness Analysis Certification

    The Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) loan program provides low-cost loans for the planning, design, and construction of various water pollution control activities. Recent amendments to the Clean Water Act require all loan recipients of projects funded by a CWSRF loan to develop and implement a Cost and Effectiveness Analysis. The Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA) administers the CWSRF loan program for Arizona. 

     

     What is a Cost and Effectiveness Analysis?  

     The Cost and Effectiveness Analysis is a process for selecting a project or activity that maximizes water and energy conservation and considers overall project costs as well as critical non-monetary factors. This analysis usually involves comparing a set of alternatives that reach the same objective or need based on a standard set of monetary and non-monetary factors. 


    At a minimum, a cost and effectiveness analysis demonstrates the recipient: 

    1. has studied and evaluated the cost and effectiveness of the processes, materials, techniques, and technologies for carrying out the proposed project or activity; and
    2. has selected, to the maximum extent practicable, a project or activity that maximizes the potential for efficient water use, reuse, recapture, and conservation, and energy conservation, taking into account—
      1. the cost of constructing the project or activity;
      2. the cost of operating and maintaining the project or activity over the life of the project or activity; and
      3. the cost of replacing the project or activity.


     There is no requirement that communities select the least-cost alternative, but the least-cost choice is usually selected unless non-monetary factors suggest otherwise. Completing a Cost and Effectiveness Analysis is an eligible expense under the CWSRF.

     

     Cost and Effectiveness Analysis Certification 

    Recipients must complete, sign, and submit the CWSRF Cost and Effectiveness Analysis Certification Form before receiving funding for final design or construction. For design loans, the loan recipient will complete and provide the certification and analysis as a requirement before the final disbursements. 

     

     Cost and Effectiveness Analysis Certification Form

  • Fiscal Sustainability Plan

    Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) loans for treatment works projects require loan recipients to have a Fiscal Sustainability Plan (FSP).

    A Fiscal Sustainability Plan describes how a wastewater treatment facility owner will fund the creation, acquisition, operation, maintenance, rehabilitation, and replacement of assets to meet their established level of service with the least overall cost. Furthermore, a Fiscal Sustainability Plan calls for ongoing energy and water efficiency improvement efforts. 


    The FWPCA includes section 603(d)(1)(E), which details the requirement of a Fiscal Sustainability Plan for treatment works projects to include the following: 

    • an inventory of critical assets that are part of the treatment works;
    • an evaluation of the condition and performance of inventoried assets or asset groupings;
    • a certification that the assistance recipient has evaluated and will be implementing water and energy conservation efforts; 
    • a strategy for maintaining, repairing, and, as necessary, replacing the treatment works and a plan for funding such activities.


     A CWSRF Borrower must certify that it has developed and is implementing a Fiscal Sustainability Plan. Many entities already use a written plan for sustaining operational and financial viability, and these plans often meet the requirements above. However, borrowers that have not developed a Plan before loan award may include the cost of producing the Plan in the loan. 


    Fiscal Sustainability Plan Certification Form


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