EPA Invites Sites Reservoir to Apply for $2.2 Billion WIFIA loan

The loan would bring the Sites Reservoir, an off-stream water storage facility located in California, drought resiliency project “significantly closer to construction and completion.”

SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invited the Sites Project Authority (Authority) to apply for a $2.2 billion low-interest, long-term loan through the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA). Access to this federally backed financing would move this important new water supply project “significantly closer to construction and completion,” according to the Authority.  The project will add 1.5 million acre-feet of new water storage vital for California communities and environment facing more frequent and severe drought conditions, like those the region is currently experiencing.

TFG has proudly worked with the Authority and its predecessor Sites proponents for more than two decades. Sites Reservoir is an off-stream water storage facility that captures, and stores stormwater flows from the Sacramento River—after all other water rights and regulatory requirements are met—for release primarily in dry and critical years for environmental use and for California communities, farms, and businesses. Importantly, a loan through the WIFIA program would dramatically reduce the costs to participants, making it more affordable for cities, farms, and resource managers to have access to more water in dry years. The Sites Reservoir has broad statewide representation including cities, counties, water, and irrigation districts throughout the Sacramento Valley, San Joaquin Valley, Bay Area, and Southern California.

The WIFIA loan program was established in 2014 to accelerate investment in the United States water infrastructure through long-term, low-cost federal loans for regionally and nationally impactful projects. The Sites Project Authority submitted a letter of intent (LOI) to apply in July 2021.

Learn more about the Sites Reservoir Project. View the Sites Reservoir press release and recent news coverage.