EPA approves $240M in WIFIA loans, including wastewater upgrades in King County

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved three Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loans totaling $240 million to support water and wastewater infrastructure improvements in the Pacific Northwest, including a major wastewater investment in King County, Washington.

King County received a $65 million WIFIA loan to modernize its wastewater infrastructure system, replacing aging components, building new system elements and extending the useful life of portions of its wastewater pipeline by up to 50 years. The project is expected to benefit thousands of rural residents and businesses. This marks King County’s fifth WIFIA loan and supports more than $1 billion in cumulative wastewater infrastructure investments in the county.

In Oregon, the City of Medford was approved for a $147 million WIFIA loan to improve infrastructure and protect water quality in the Rogue River watershed, benefiting approximately 166,000 people and supporting more than 900 local jobs. A separate $28 million WIFIA loan was approved for the Rockwood Water People’s Utility District in northwest Oregon to support its Cascade Groundwater Development Project, focused on drinking water reliability.

“EPA’s WIFIA program is actively working to accelerate investments in water infrastructure through multiple avenues,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Jess Kramer in an EPA press release. “The program is disbursing funding through existing finalized loans, processing and finalizing new loan agreements, and seeking new applicants for $7 billion in additional funding.”

EPA also noted that it is accepting letters of interest under its 2025 WIFIA and State WIFIA funding rounds, with $6.5 billion available nationwide for eligible water and wastewater projects.