Funding provided through the Clean Water Fund Program will help small and disadvantaged communities upgrade wastewater equipment

MADISON - Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), today announced that $444 million has been allocated for financial assistance through the Clean Water Fund Program (CWFP) to 50 Wisconsin municipalities to improve their wastewater infrastructure. The funding will help municipalities across the state construct needed wastewater infrastructure, including projects that reduce phosphorus discharges and address aging equipment, with a focus on small and disadvantaged communities.

“We’re working to make sure Wisconsinites have safe, clean water straight from their tap to drink and that community water systems are safe, reliable, and can help effectively prevent harmful contaminants from being in our water supplies. Thanks to programs like the CWFP and help from the Biden-Harris Administration, these investments will go a long way toward building the 21st-century infrastructure we need to ensure Wisconsinites have access to clean and safe water across our state,” said Gov. Evers.

The CWFP provides financial assistance to municipalities throughout Wisconsin for wastewater and water quality-related urban stormwater infrastructure projects that protect and improve public health and water quality for current and future generations. The DNR and the Wisconsin Department of Administration have administered the CWFP since 1991, providing over $6.1 billion in financial assistance to Wisconsin municipalities. Additional information about the CWFP can be found online here.

Through this round of funding, the DNR is allocating $399.9 million in subsidized loans and $44.1 million in principal forgiveness funding to support wastewater improvement projects. The CWFP subsidizes municipalities to buy down the market rate on program loans (reduced-interest rate loans). The principal forgiveness funding is comparable to a grant because the municipality will not have to repay those funds.

Thanks to President Joe Biden and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), DNR Environmental Loans programs like the CWFP are receiving more than $900 million in additional funding in Federal Fiscal Years 2022-2026. The BIL also appropriates $1 billion over Fiscal Years 2022-2026 to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund specifically to address emerging contaminants, including perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in wastewater, stormwater, and nonpoint source pollution nationwide. The CWFP Funding List for state fiscal year (FY) 2025 represents the third year of Supplemental Wastewater BIL funding.

Additionally, for the first time in CWFP history, loan demand has exceeded capacity. Total CWFP demand in state FY25 equaled more than $535 million. Due to recent spikes in demand for funding, the CWFP has exhausted available revenue bonding authority and can only allocate funding to some applicants. Additional funding will be allocated to unfunded projects if it becomes available.

Since taking office in 2019, identifying and remediating contamination in ground, surface, and drinking water has been a top priority for Gov. Evers and the Evers Administration. Gov. Evers declared 2019 the Year of Clean Drinking Water to highlight the need for meaningful investments to ensure Wisconsinites have clean, safe water that is free of harmful contaminants like PFAS, lead, and nitrate. More information regarding the governor’s efforts to ensure every Wisconsin family has clean, safe water straight from their tap is available here.

A full list of preliminarily approved projects by municipality for state FY25 is available here. Examples of preliminarily approved projects include: 

Athens | $2,117,680
The village of Athens is receiving $2,117,680 in CWFP funding, of which $1 million is phosphorus reduction priority principal forgiveness and $391,188 is general principal forgiveness. The remaining funding will be a loan with a subsidized interest rate. This funding will be used to upgrade the local wastewater treatment plant to comply with phosphorus limits.

Rockdale | $3,189,190
The village of Rockdale is receiving $3,189,190 in CWFP funding, including $2,232,433 of regionalization priority principal forgiveness, with the remainder serving as a loan with a subsidized interest rate. This funding will be used to construct a pumping station and redirect wastewater to the village of Cambridge’s wastewater treatment facility.

Winchester | $4,920,000
The Larsen-Winchester Sanitary District in Winchester is receiving $4,920,000 in CWFP funding, of which $892,980 is general principal forgiveness and $91,020 is phosphorus reduction priority principal forgiveness. The remaining funding will be a loan with a subsidized interest rate. The Sanitary District will use the funding to upgrade the wastewater treatment plant to comply with ammonia and phosphorus limits.

The funds will be awarded to municipalities over the next year and disbursed as eligible costs are incurred. The funding is a combination of $354,700,000 of the DNR’s revolving CWFP loan funding and funding from federal capitalization grants, including:

- Base Clean Water State Revolving Fund: $22,070,000;

- Supplemental Clean Water BIL funding: $61,481,000; and

- Emerging Contaminants (PFAS) Clean Water BIL funding: $5,749,000.

An online version of this release is available here.