Hot Topic: Water Restoration Assistance

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Water Restoration Assistance is responsible for providing loans and grants for projects that improve the quality and quantity of the state’s water resources of the state and provide a significant benefit to the environment and local communities. Projects in several program areas are funded to improve stormwater quality, reduce pollutants that enter surface water and groundwater, protect springs, collect and treat wastewater, produce and distribute drinking water, nourish beaches and reclaim mined land.

State Revolving Fund Loan Program

The State Revolving Fund Loan Program (SRF) is Florida’s largest financial assistance program for water infrastructure. DEP’s SRF Program, established in 1989 for wastewater projects, and 1998 for drinking water projects, has awarded more than $4.8 billion in loans for wastewater, stormwater and drinking water infrastructure, including about $1.4 billion in funding for more than 200 projects in the past five years. The program is funded by federal grants, state matching funds, loan repayments and interest earnings.

The Clean Water SRF provides low-interest loans to local governments to plan, design, and build or upgrade wastewater, stormwater, nonpoint source pollution prevention projects, and drinking water systems. Discounted assistance for small communities is available. Interest rates on loans are below market rates and vary based on the economic means of the community.

Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention

The Clean Water Act Section 319 grant and the state Total Maximum Daily Load Water Quality Restoration grant fund projects that reduce pollution from nonpoint sources and urban stormwater. Eligible projects include stormwater treatment, erosion and sediment control, and septic tank pollution abatement.

Beach Restoration and Erosion Control

Beach Management Funding Assistance provides grants to local governments for the planning and implementation of beach and inlet management projects to protect upland structures and infrastructure, provide critical habitat for threatened and endangered species, provide recreational opportunities and support local economies through tourism.

Recent Press Releases

• DEP Awards More Than $24 Million for Projects to Improve Water Quality in the Indian River - 02/28/17 

• DEP Celebrates Grand Opening of Indian Hills Recreation Area in Fort Pierce - 02/24/17

• DEP Provides $5.6 Million for New Wastewater Collection System in Springfield - 02/13/17

• DEP Celebrates Groundbreaking of Water Treatment Facility in Greenville - 01/27/17