DNR Highlights Importance Of State Revolving Fund Programs For Clean, Safe Water In Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) highlighted the importance of the State Revolving Fund programs at the Natural Resources Board meeting today. Financial assistance is available to municipalities throughout Wisconsin for drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure projects that protect and improve public health and water quality.

The State Revolving Fund includes the Clean Water Fund and Safe Drinking Water Loan programs. Since 1991, those programs have provided over $7.3 billion in financial assistance to municipalities across Wisconsin for over 2,000 projects. There continues to be a high demand for financial assistance from communities across the state.

“Communities are required to meet wastewater and drinking water standards to protect water quality and public health. The projects that the communities have to do to meet those requirements are often very expensive,” said Jim Ritchie, DNR Bureau Director of Community Financial Assistance. “With the lower interest rates the DNR can provide through these loans, it can really save a lot for the communities, which is a direct savings to the homeowners who are paying those bills.”

The State Revolving Fund combines federal capitalization grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with state funding and repayments from previous loans. Funding is provided as low-interest loans, and portions of loans may be awarded as principal forgiveness for eligible applicants with no repayment required. As local communities repay loans to the state, those funds become available for new loans.

Wisconsin’s State Revolving Fund is administered jointly by the DNR’s Bureau of Community Financial Assistance and the Department of Administration‘s Capital Finance Office.

Demand for loan and principal forgiveness has spiked over the past few years, largely due to the increased funding and amounts of principal forgiveness available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This funding has allowed the DNR to fund projects beyond what could have been previously funded. Demand is expected to remain strong through the remaining years of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, through 2027.

The 2025-27 Wisconsin state budget signed into law by Gov. Tony Evers also increases borrowing for the State Revolving Fund by $731.6 million to secure federal clean water and safe drinking water capitalization grants and meet the demand from local communities over the next four years.

Safe Drinking Water Loan Program

The Safe Drinking Water Loan Program provides subsidized loans to municipalities for public drinking water systems and infrastructure projects to improve drinking water quality for Wisconsinites. The funding helps municipalities across the state construct necessary water infrastructure projects, including replacing lead service lines and addressing emerging contaminants such as per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

In South Milwaukee, the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program is helping to fund the removal of all lead service lines in the city, including over 2,700 public and private lead service lines over three years. The program has also funded a PFAS well water treatment project in West Bend in Washington County.

The 2026 Safe Drinking Water Loan Program funding list will be announced soon.

Clean Water Fund Program

The Clean Water Fund Program provides subsidized loans to municipalities for publicly owned wastewater treatment and collection system infrastructure projects. It includes projects for compliance with a municipality’s Wisconsin Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit.

In Dodge County, the Clean Water Fund Program helped the Burnett Sanitary District address its aging lagoon system for treating wastewater. The system was leaking and unable to meet phosphorus limits, creating a risk for E. coli in nearby drinking water sources. The funding helped the Burnett Sanitary District connect their wastewater to the city of Beaver Dam’s wastewater treatment plant, providing a long-term solution for the district. The project was co-funded by USDA Rural Development.

To learn more about State Revolving Fund programs and their impact, visit the DNR website.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.