Maine Water Co. one of 12 qualifying for EPA low-cost loans
Courtesy / Maine Water Co.
Rick Knowlton, president of Maine Water Co. The company's planned $50 million water treatment plant in Biddeford is one of 12 projects nationwide qualifying for low-cost loans through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Maine Water Co. is one of 12 projects nationwide selected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to apply for a low-cost water infrastructure loan to help pay for its $50 million water treatment plant planned in Biddeford.
Loans funded through the EPA’s Water Infrastructure and Innovation Act program target “regionally and nationally significant projects,” according to an EPA news release.
Maine Water has requested a $24.5 million loan to go towards construction of a new 20-million-gallons-per-day water treatment facility on the Saco River that would serve 50,000 people and replace the existing facility built in 1884.
“Rebuilding America’s infrastructure is a critical pillar of the president’s agenda,” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in the release. “These large-scale projects will improve water quality for 20 million Americans, especially those communities that need it the most — such as rural and urban communities.”
The Biddeford project was selected with 11 others out of 43 applications received by EPA for funding through the WIFIA program. This year’s projects are expected to leverage more than $1 billion in private capital and other funding sources, including EPA’s State Revolving Fund loans, to help finance a total of $5.1 billion in water infrastructure investments.
Maine Water’s $50 million project will provide public water service to the coastal municipalities in York County. It also is designed to improve the water system’s sustainability and allow for expansion to serve neighboring water systems in southern Maine, consistent with the Southern Maine Regional Water Council master plan.
“Maine Water Company is extremely pleased that our Saco River WTF project has been selected to apply for funding through the WIFIA program, and we look forward to working with EPA to deliver financial benefits to our customers that prior to WIFIA would not have been possible,” said Rick Knowlton, president of Maine Water.
Maine Water is a public water utility that owns 12 public water systems in 21 communities across Maine, serving more than 32,000 customers, or approximately 85,000 people.
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