Iowa Municipalities to Save through Interest Rate Reduction on Water Quality Loans
The Iowa Finance Authority and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources today announced that 30 municipalities with current State Revolving Fund loans for water quality projects will save a total of more than $7.6 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.
“This rate reduction is possible due to the success of the State Revolving Fund and excellent financial management,”
said Iowa Finance Authority Executive Director Debi Durham. “The State Revolving Fund has saved Iowa communities a total of nearly $50 million in interest payments through interest rate reductions for loans that are more than ten years old. This is $50 million that municipalities have been able to invest in other priorities to create opportunities for their residents, community and businesses to thrive.”
“We’ve found the State Revolving Fund to be the most affordable option for completing our water quality projects and keeping rates low for our residents,” said City of Washington Finance Director Kelsey Brown. “The recent interest rate reduction translates to more than $1.5 million in savings, which we can now use to move other community initiatives forward.”
“This program is a successful partnership between state and local governments, and we are proud to play a role in not only assisting communities in completing water quality projects, but also helping them realize substantial savings,” said Iowa Department of Natural Resources Director Kayla Lyon.
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.
View Municipalities with recent interest rate reductions here.