WIFA Plan for Funding Cycle 2007

Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona (WIFA) Chairman & Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) Director Steve Owens today released WIFA’s Technical Assistance Intended Use Plan (TA IUP) for funding cycle 2007.

In the TA IUP WIFA awarded $822,081 in technical assistance funding for the 2007 funding cycle - $387,756 in wastewater technical assistance grants & $434,235 in grants for drinking water technical assistance. An additional $150,000 will be used by ADEQ to provide operational technical assistance.

Arizona municipalities, public water systems & Indian communities applied for funding by completing a Technical Assistance Priority List application. WIFA will fund 10 clean water technical assistance projects for the 2007 funding cycle. WIFA will fund 14 drinking water technical assistance projects for the 2007 funding cycle.

"WIFA is very pleased to award technical assistance grants to the communities most in need of this funding to update their water & wastewater systems,” said Owens. “Technical assistance sets the stage for a successful renovation of a system.”

The TA IUP describes WIFA’s use of various sources of funding to support 3 types of technical assistance during Technical Assistance Funding Cycle 2007:

· Project Technical Assistance – WIFA will assist an individual drinking water or wastewater system with planning, designing & developing infrastructure.

· Policy Technical Assistance – WIFA will develop & distribute guidance or perform related activities to benefit a wide range of drinking water & wastewater systems.

· Operational Technical Assistance – ADEQ will assist individual drinking water systems in improving day-to-day operations.

The 2007 clean water grant recipients include City of Bullhead City, City of Kingman, Mayer Domestic Water Improvement District, City of Holbrook, City of San Luis, Fort Mohave Tribal Utilities Authority, Town of Chino Valley, Queen Valley Sanitary District, Town of Oro Valley, & the Town of Camp Verde.

Drinking water grant recipients for the 2007 funding cycle include Park Water Company, Picacho Water Improvement Corporation, Diamond Valley Water Users Corporation, Gila County, Havasu Heights Domestic Water Improvement District, Ponderosa Park Domestic Water Improvement District, Valle Escondido Domestic Water Improvement District, Flowing Wells Irrigation District, Town of Mammoth, Antelope Peak Domestic Water Improvement District, Highland Pines Domestic Water Improvement District, Grand Canyon Caverns and Inn LLC, East Slope Water Company, & Green Valley Domestic Water Improvement District. The grants are awarded for a variety of projects. For example, Diamond Valley Water Users Corporation plans to form a domestic water improvement district enabling the citizens to acquire, operate & improve the existing water delivery system for the area. Flowing Wells Irrigation District is using the funds for an arsenic project.

"The Technical Assistance Intended Use Plan for funding cycle 2007 offers communities a variety of options & funds,” said WIFA Executive Director Jay Spector. “We are proud of our technical assistance program & look forward to helping communities during the 2007 funding cycle.”

The Technical Assistance Intended Use Plan can be found on WIFA’s Web site (www.azwifa.gov).