City of Santa Cruz to receive $128 million from EPA to improve drinking water reliability
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV)- On Tuesday afternoon, the Environmental Protection Agency will be giving a $128 million dollar loan to the City of Santa Cruz to upgrade its water infrastructure throughout the city.
The EPA said in a statement that the loan will help the city become more resilient to drought and climate change.
According to the EPA, nearly 100,000 residents that live in Santa Cruz depend on the local water supplies.
The loan will fund projects like converting groundwater wells into aquifer storage and recovery wells. The city will also be updating their raw water conveyance pipeline.
"With this WIFIA funding, the City of Santa Cruz is modernizing their drinking water treatment facility to be resilient to both drought and extreme rain impacts that the city has faced over the last few years," said Rosemary Menard who is the EPA Assistant Administrator for Water.
The EPA says that these projects is estimated to create over a thousand jobs. The loan will also save the city $18 million dollars.
"The WIFIA loan from the EPA allows Santa Cruz to make critical investments in securing our community’s water future, while saving our ratepayers substantial costs,” City of Santa Cruz Water Director Rosemary Menard said.
