The cities of Washington, Brighton and Keota will soon see savings on water quality loans thanks to a recent interest rate reduction.

The Iowa Finance Authority and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources recently announced that 30 municipalities with current State Revolving Fund loans for water quality projects will save a total of more than $7.6 million in interest over the remaining life of their loans as a result of their interest rate being reduced from 3% to 1.75%.

The State Revolving Fund is one of Iowa’s primary sources for financing projects designed to improve Iowa’s water quality. Two funds, one for drinking water and one for wastewater and pollution control, have provided low-cost financing to projects in nearly 700 Iowa communities in addition to farmers, watershed groups and others. The program is jointly administered by the Iowa Finance Authority and the DNRs. The City of Washington is projected to save $1,546,081 with the cities of Brighton and Keota estimated to save $20,094 and $10,219, respectively. Washington Finance Director Kelsey Brown says that this option was found to be the most affordable for completing water quality projects and keeping rates low for residents. She says the money saved can be used to move other community initiatives forward. Besides offering communities low-interest rates to finance water infrastructure projects, the State Revolving Fund offers other benefits, such as lower up-front costs and no reserve requirement. 

For more information on the SRF program, visit here.