A pilot water project, fire hydrants and the "the nuclear option" were at the forefront of Washington water issues late last fall. The Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) was on the brink of success, or failure, as a House-Senate conference committee began work on the multi-billion dollar Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) reauthorization bill. The Senate-passed WRDA bill-but not the House version-contains WIFIA language. WIFIA would establish a $50 million/year pilot program offering low-interest loans for water and wastewater infrastructure projects, mostly those costing at least $20 million. The demonstration program would be apart from the state revolving funds for federal water grants.
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