Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority

In 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water Needs Survey for Arkansas estimated $5.4 billion worth of sewer improvement needs over a 20-year period. Now imagine a strategic reinvestment tool that secures public health, keeps local waters clean, and multiplies community impact. The Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) is that tool, and now is the time for Congress to re-authorize it for the benefit of communities across Arkansas and America.

In Arkansas, the CWSRF has turned $421 million in federal appropriations into $1.55 billion for clean, safe water across the state. This is one of the best examples of effective collaboration between federal, state and local partnerships for building critical community infrastructure. The CWSRF has enabled communities of every size to fix aging sewer systems with low-interest loans and grants. When those loans are repaid, the money is reinvested in new projects, creating a self-sustaining cycle of local reinvestment.

Arkansas is fortunate in that Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders understands Arkansas’s water infrastructure needs, and her administration has used these and other funds to support critical water projects in every corner of our state.

The CWSRF was last reauthorized in 2021 through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, providing $3.25 billion for fiscal years 2025 and 2026. This was the largest federal investment in infrastructure in decades. Yet, the program is set to expire on Sept. 30, 2026, at a time when the need far outpaces available funding.

In Little Rock, the CWSRF has been a game changer:

Minimized financial burden of meeting Consent Administrative Order requirements: Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority (LRWRA) received below-market interest rates for more than $250 million of financing over the last 20 years to aid its efforts to rehabilitate aging infrastructure and upgrade its treatment plants in order to satisfy the requirements of the Consent Administrative Order. Additionally, the Arkansas Natural Resources Division, which administers the CWSRF program, refinanced a significant amount of prior LRWRA loans at more favorable terms and restructured our loan portfolio shortly after the onset of covid which made meaningful improvements in our cash flow in the ensuing years.

Eliminated Sewer Service Line Replacement Program reimbursement backlog:

With CWSRF dollars, the waiting period for approving resident applications for participation in LRWRA’s popular Sewer Service Line Replacement Program was reduced from more than six months to two weeks. By virtually eliminating this backlog, we were able to significantly reduce inflow and infiltration into our collection system at a much faster rate, thereby more effectively protecting the environment and preventing backups into people’s homes. Communities of every size across Arkansas have their own examples to share. We could not have accomplished this without the CWSRF.

Across Arkansas, infrastructure is aging, with some facilities over 60 years old, and the cost of inaction is too high. When systems fail, the consequences are costly: sewage overflows, flooded streets, and economic losses for local businesses and families. Congress can act now to support and enhance this vital program. The CWSRF allows water utilities to replace failing equipment, use the latest treatment technologies, and prepare for future growth, saving ratepayers money and preventing environmental harm before it happens.

The U.S. House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure will soon consider legislation to re-authorize the CWSRF. On behalf of Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority, my colleagues at water utilities across Arkansas, and the thousands of Arkansans we proudly serve, I urge committee members to support this legislation, and each member of Arkansas’ federal delegation to reauthorize the CWSRF at its current level of $3.25 billion.

Congress must act before the program’s authorization expires to ensure that every community in America, and Arkansas, regardless of size, has resources for reliable, clean water. Clean water is a necessity. It fuels healthy citizens, a healthy environment, numerous industries, and economic growth. I encourage Arkansas’s federal delegation to act now and keep Arkansas’s water clean and our communities strong.

Jean Block is the CEO of Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority. She also serves on the board of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) and is the immediate past president of the Arkansas Water & Wastewater Managers Association.