Iowa Municipalities to Save through Interest Rate Reduction on Water Quality Loans

DES MOINES – The Iowa Finance Authority and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources announced that 25 municipalities with current State Revolving Fund loans for water quality projects will save a total of more than $12 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 for water quality projects. The program is jointly administered by the Iowa Finance Authority and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

“The State Revolving Fund has been recognized for partnering with local governments to finance some of the most innovative and far-reaching water quality projects in the country,” said Iowa Finance Authority Executive Director Debi Durham. “We’re proud of this partnership as well as the ability to help many SRF borrowers realize substantial savings and the ability to reallocate the funds elsewhere in their budgets, a benefit that may prove to be especially critical in 2020.”

“The City of Clinton has saved $5.7 million through the interest rate reduction on our State Revolving Fund water quality loan,” said City of Clinton Finance Director Anita Dalton. “This savings is timely and will provide the City with some flexibility as we work to navigate the potential impacts of COVID-19.”

“This program is an excellent example of successful partnerships between state and local governments,” said Iowa Department of Natural Resources Director Kayla Lyon. “We are proud to play a role in assisting communities and municipalities of all sizes upgrade their water infrastructure – an investment their residents will benefit from for years to come.”

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 State Revolving Loan program, visit IowaSRF.com.  

The Iowa Finance Authority administers the State Revolving Fund (SRF) in partnership with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The SRF assists communities with the costs of upgrading or constructing public wastewater and drinking water infrastructure projects.

Municipalities with recent interest rate reductions: