U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing its approval of three Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loans totaling $240 million. These loans will improve vital water infrastructure in Northwest Oregon; the City of Medford, Oregon; and King County, Washington. EPA is committed to ensuring that every American has access to safe and reliable water services and the agency’s WIFIA program plays a key role by helping finance infrastructure upgrades while loan payments reimburse the U.S. Treasury.
“EPA’s WIFIA program is actively working to accelerate investments in water infrastructure through multiple avenues. 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,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Jess Kramer. “This program has only gotten stronger since its inaugural loan was issued under the first Trump administration and the agency is committed to maximizing the impact of WIFIA to strengthen essential water services that benefit households and the American economy.”
Newly approved loans
EPA is announcing its approval of three different loans to benefit communities, and the agency will work with the local water systems to formally close the related loan agreements:
- King County, Washington: A $65 million WIFIA loan to modernize the wastewater infrastructure system. This loan will benefit thousands of rural King County residents and businesses by replacing and building new components of the system and adding 50 years of useful life to part of the wastewater pipeline. This will be King County’s fifth WIFIA loan, supporting over $1 billion in wastewater infrastructure investments.
- Medford, Oregon: A $147 million WIFIA loan will benefit 166,000 Americans by improving infrastructure and protecting the water quality of the nationally significant Rogue River, while creating over 900 local jobs.
- Northwest Oregon: A $28 million WIFIA loan will support the Rockwood Water People’s Utility District in northwest Oregon. This is the district’s second loan for the Cascade Groundwater Development Project that will improve the reliability of its drinking water system for 66,000 people.
Notices of funding availability
In November, EPA announced the 2025 WIFIA Notice of Funding Availability, which initiates the ninth round of financing with $6.5 billion available. Through a separate Notice of Funding Availability, $550 million is available to State infrastructure financing authorities through the State WIFIA (SWIFIA) program. EPA is currently accepting letters of interest for both WIFIA and SWIFIA financing.
For this new round of funding, EPA has identified priority areas that will advance the agency’s Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative, including:
- Ensuring safe drinking water and addressing pollution in our nation’s waterbodies;
- Unleashing American energy dominance;
- Advancing cooperative federalism by supporting local, regional, and state water priorities;
- Supporting innovation in the water sector; and
- Promoting economic growth and furthering America’s industrial resurgence.
