120 likes | 130 Views
Water Infrastructure Financing in Utah. Todd Stonely, P.E. Project Funding Manager. Revolving Loan Funds . The Board of Water Resources manages four loan funds: Revolving Construction Fund (1947) Cities Water Loan Fund (1974) Construction & Development Fund (1978)
E N D
Water Infrastructure Financing in Utah Todd Stonely, P.E. Project Funding Manager
Revolving Loan Funds The Board of Water Resources manages four loan funds: • Revolving Construction Fund (1947) • Cities Water Loan Fund (1974) • Construction & Development Fund (1978) • Water Infrastructure Restricted Account (2016)
Revolving Construction Fund • 1947-1986: Consistently funded from General Fund (Annual Avg. $1.4M) • 1987-92: No appropriations • 1993-Present: Annual appropriations for Dam Safety (Avg. $4.1M)* *Includes one time appropriations of $11M (2016) and $8.4M (2018) • TOTAL = $137,000,000
Cities Water Loan Fund • 1974-1989: Consistently funded from General Fund (Annual Avg. $1.4M) • 1990-Present: No appropriations • 2009: Legislature raided fund ($3.6M) • TOTAL = $18,000,000
Construction & Development Fund • 1979 & 1978: $25M • 1983: $20M • 1986: $ 3M • 1990: $15M • 1992-2006: Annual approp. from Sales Tax (Avg. $3.8M) • 2007-Present: Sales Tax (Avg. $13.9M) • TOTAL = $312,000,000
Water Infrastructure Restricted Account • 2016: $5.0M from General Fund • 2018: $7.7M from Sales Tax • Future Years: Gradual ramp up to full 1/16 cent Sales Tax ($25-30M) • TOTAL = $12,700,000
Revloving Funds • Overseen by Board of Water Resources (WIRA – Includes legislative process) • Eligible entities: Water and Irrigation co. and Political Subdivisions of the State • Any water-related project, including flood control • Primarily low-interest loans • Dam safety grants (limited) • New legislative appropriations not required for carryover
Revolving Funds, cont. • Funds not tied to State Water Plan • State Water Plan often identifies areas of need • Water supply funding not integrated with water quality funding
Other Sources of Funding • Emergency appropriations (1977) • State funds used as matching funds for federal funds (WaterSMART grants primarily) • Public private partnerships?
Project Priority • Public health, safety, or emergency projects • Municipal water projects • Agricultural water projects • Projects with significant other funding
Lessons Learned • Revolving funds work very well!! • Strong support from Legislature, rural, and urban areas • Priority systems and creative financing options help when funds are lean
Recommendations • Collect and report accurate water data • Robust planning efforts • Work with key water users to make the case for needed investments • Use existing mechanisms to distribute new money when possible