Financing Green Stormwater and Natural Infrastructure with Clean Water State Revolving Funds
Our own Tee Thomas recently worked alongside colleagues at the Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) to co-author a new report, Financing Green Stormwater and Natural Infrastructure with Clean Water State Revolving Funds. The report provides in-depth insight into how Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) dollars can be better leveraged to address growing water quality and public health issues.
In the last 5 years, it's reported that only 3% of CWSRF funds have been invested into natural and green stormwater infrastructure. As our communities continue to face mounting issues of climate change, aging water infrastructure, and health risks, it is imperative that we utilize these funds more effectively.
“Natural infrastructure is just hands-down the most cost-effective way for our municipalities to manage their water challenges,” said Tee. “When I talk natural infrastructure, it is synonymous with supporting under-resourced communities and resiliency—natural infrastructure stretches precious dollars further and does triple duty in providing health, recreation, and quality of life benefits.”
The passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act came with a broad mandate to work on projects that improve water quality and public health, giving states major leeway in how to use SRF funds. This report lays out recommendations for both states and the EPA related to investing in climate-resilient water infrastructure.
One example of innovative use of funds is the Iowa’s CWSRF investment in the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund, a project managed by Quantified Ventures subsidiary ReHarvest Partners and AgOutcomes, a subsidiary of the Iowa Soybean Association. The CWSRF investment enabled the “pay for performance” structure to incentivize farmers to implement new conservation practices that improve water quality and sequester carbon to scale to more than 85,000 acres in Iowa in 2021.
ReHarvest Partners’ pay for success program (aka the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund) and the Iowa CWSRF were recipients of the 2021 George F. Ames Performance and Innovation in the SRF Creating Environmental Success (PISCES) program award from the U.S. EPA and the project was one of five nationally to be designated as an “Exceptional Project” based on its overall impact.