by Ruthie Redmond, Water Resources Specialist
There have been quite a few stories in the news of cities in Texas and around the country dealing with water issues stemming from old and leaky pipes. While maintaining a safe water distribution system can be a costly endeavor, the Texas Water Development Board (TPWD) has many funding programs that will alleviate some of the financial costs of repairing, replacing, and maintaining our aging water infrastructure.
While there are numerous ways to manage water in Texas, investing in water conservation is the most cost-effective and environmentally sound water management strategy to meet our future water needs.
One way for utilities to pay for water conservation programming is by applying to the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT), a low-interest loan program offered through the Board. TPWD's goal is that 20% of the funds that they loan to water utilities will be used for water conservation and reuse projects. Popular conservation projects include:
- Repairing and replacing aging water pipes (that waste vast amounts of water and can be a source of contamination); and
- Implementing Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), which allows utility and customer to receive more up-to-date metering data of water use and leaks.
We think that the SWIFT program is important and that it allows utilities to save water and save money. To that end, we created the SWIFT Funding Workshop – Focus on Water Conservation, a series of workshops held across Texas providing insight and direction for water utilities seeking funding for their water conservation projects. It would be helpful for utilities to have a guide that could assist them in applying for SWIFT, so Navigating the SWIFT Application Process: Water Conservation Projects was developed and resides on our texaslivingwaters.org website.
Navigating the SWIFT Application Process: Water Conservation Projects: assists small and mid-sized utilities in evaluating the funding strategies available to them for implementing their water conservation projects. This document focuses primarily on SWIFT and includes a detailed description of the application process established by the Texas Water Development Board.
February 3, 2017, is the deadline to submit the short 2-page abridged application to apply for SWIFT funding and the Texas Living Waters Project hopes even more utilities will take advantage of the funds available for water conservation.
During the first round of SWIFT funding, only 5% of the projects that applied for SWIFT funds were for water conservation. However, Kathleen Jackson of the Texas Water Development Board says that in the most recent funding cycle, “more than 35% of the total funds requested were for conservation and reuse projects.”
For Texas to have enough water in the future, we need to use our existing supplies as efficiently and responsibly as possible. Keeping water conservation projects at the forefront of water management is vital for ensuring abundant water for both humans and wildlife.
More information about SWIFT Funding can be found here.