Texas Water Development Board closes on financial assistance totaling $211,130,000 for a large Houston area (Fort Bend and Harris counties) water supply project

For immediate release. Contact: Media Relations at 512-463-5129

AUSTIN – (December 11, 2015) –-The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) today completed the last of six closings totaling $211,130,000 providing financial assistance from the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) program* for a large regional water supply project in the Houston area (Fort Bend and Harris counties).

Project sponsors include the Central Harris County Regional Water Authority, Coastal Water Authority, the City of Houston, the North Fort Bend Water Authority, the North Harris County Regional Water Authority, and the West Harris County Regional Water.

The project sponsors could save approximately $18 million over the life of the loans by using SWIFT.

This large, complex project is a joint effort by six regional water providers and will serve approximately 4.5 million residents in the City of Houston, Harris County, and Fort Bend County.- The project will transfer water from the Trinity River to Lake Houston and includes the construction of pipelines, clay-lined open canals, and transmission and distribution lines and the expansion of the Northeast Water Purification Plant from 80 million gallons per day to 400 million gallons per day.

The TWDB has committed approximately $3 billion from SWIFT over the next decade to complete this project. Today's closing amount of $211 million funds the project needs in 2015.

On December 1, 2015, the application period for the 2016 funding cycle of the SWIFT program opened. Entities have until February 5, 2016, to submit a preliminary, two-page application. Applications may be submitted via TWDB's new online application or by paper-copy.

*The SWIFT program includes two funds, the State Water Implementation Revenue Fund for Texas (SWIRFT) and the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT). Revenue bonds for the program are issued through the SWIRFT.

The TWDB is the state agency charged with collecting and disseminating water-related data, assisting with regional planning, and preparing the state water plan for the development of the state's water resources. The TWDB administers cost-effective financial assistance programs for the construction of water supply, wastewater treatment, flood control, and agricultural water conservation projects.