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Glossary
Water loss, utilities and public funding

What is Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and WIFIA?

Definition

The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) and the WIFIA program finance US water infrastructure: the first through state-run revolving loan funds, the second through EPA-operated credit assistance.

Who can borrow

DWSRF assistance reaches drinking water systems through a program run by each state. EPA's WIFIA program lends to public and private borrowers for wastewater, drinking water and stormwater projects, and its loans can be combined with State Revolving Fund assistance, municipal bonds, and federal and state grants.

How the money is structured

  • The DWSRF was created by the 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act.
  • EPA awards capitalization grants to states based on the latest Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey, and each state adds a 20 percent match.
  • For fiscal 2026, EPA announced $7.2 billion in allotments across the Clean Water and Drinking Water SRFs, from annual appropriations and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
  • WIFIA was created by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014. Its most recent funding notices made about $6.5 billion available for WIFIA loans.
Questions

Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and WIFIA: common questions

The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund is a federal and state partnership that lends money to public water systems for infrastructure that protects public health. Each state sets priorities and terms, and repaid loans fund new projects. Related funding routes are covered on the government funding page.

WIFIA is a federal credit program that EPA manages itself, aimed at large, capital-intensive infrastructure. It offers long-term, low-cost loans that can cover part of project costs, which borrowers combine with bonds, revolving fund assistance or grants. It complements the state-run revolving funds.

Loan repayments flow back into the state fund and are lent again, so the same capital finances projects over many years. Some states add principal forgiveness for disadvantaged communities, which works like a grant for that borrower while the fund keeps revolving.

No. State programs and EPA advise applicants. Aqueduct only supplies measured data, such as a loss baseline, that an application may cite. That data can also show results after a funded project, through measurement and verification.

See Aqueduct on your own facility.

Bring a site, a utility bill or a question. We will show you where the loss is.

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