Evaluating State Revolving Funds

State Revolving Funds (SRFs) have long been used as a source of low-cost financing for drinking water and stormwater infrastructure in the U.S. and support drinking water equity goals.

This project is a collaboration with the Environmental Policy and Innovation Center to better understand how Drinking Water SRFs (DWSRFs) are distributed in the U.S., how state policy and management agencies prioritize and leverage these funds, and how they might be used to better support the infrastructure finance needs of disadvantaged communities. Our results have shown that smaller communities and communities with larger racial minority populations are less likely to receive DWSRF funding. We offer several recommendations for policymakers that can help ensure these critical funds reach the communities that need them most:

• Improve and increase technical assistance
• Increase the amount of additional subsidies provided by states
• Prioritize projects in high-poverty and historically-underinvested communities

See news coverage of our findings in the Washington Post, the New York Times, and E&E News.