1. Water Infrastructure Financing in Utah
Todd Stonely, P.E.
Project Funding Manager

2. 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)

3. Revolving Construction Fund
: Consistently funded from General Fund (Annual Avg. $1.4M)
: 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

4. Cities Water Loan Fund
: Consistently funded from General Fund (Annual Avg. $1.4M)
1990-Present: No appropriations
2009: Legislature raided fund ($3.6M)
TOTAL = $18,000,000

5. Construction & Development Fund
: Annual approp. from Sales Tax (Avg. $3.8M)
2007-Present: Sales Tax (Avg. $13.9M)
TOTAL = $312,000,000

6. Water Infrastructure Restricted Account
2016: $5.0M from General Fund
2018: $7.7M from Sales Tax
Future Years: Gradual ramp up to full /16 cent Sales Tax ($25-30M)
TOTAL = $12,700,000

7. 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

8. 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

9. Other Sources of Funding
Emergency appropriations (1977)
State funds used as matching funds for federal funds (WaterSMART grants primarily)
Public private partnerships?

10. Project Priority Public health, safety, or emergency projects
Municipal water projects
Agricultural water projects
Projects with significant other funding

11. 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

12. 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