On July 26, 2018, the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) announced the approval of approximately $23 million in financial assistance to be put towards 15 water and wastewater projects.
$21 million of the funding will be put towards three projects, two in South Texas cities and one in a rural area. The remaining cash injection will be spread across 12 project sponsors across the state.
Of the three major projects receiving the $21-million portion, $19 million will be awarded to the city of McAllen, Tex., which will go towards water and wastewater system improvements; the city of Falfurrias, Tex., will receive $415,000 for a wastewater system improvement; and the Lone Star Regional Water Authority will receive $1,635,000 for water system improvements in the rural areas of Williamson County and Bell County.
The smaller injection of funding aside from the three major projects is sourced from the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) program.
“Moving forward with state water plan projects is critical for the future of Texas,” said Kathleen Jackson, TWDB board member. “It’s exciting to see communities embrace a variety of projects, both large and small, and turn to the SWIFT program to meet their current and future water supply needs.”
The SWIFT program was established in 2013, receiving a transfer of $2 billion from the state’s Rainy Day Fund. The state will be able to leverage this transfer with revenue bonds, allowing for approximately $27 billion to fund water projects over the next 50 years.
“The TWDB has now committed more than $8 billion in financial assistance since the first cycle of SWIFT funding in 2015,” said TWDB Board Chairman Peter Lake. “The high demand is a testament to the program’s success in implementing the state water plan. As always, the board will continue to actively manage the program to ensure it’s available for Texas communities for decades to come.”
