Rep. Panetta Announces $128 Million Federal Loan from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill for the City of Santa Cruz to Upgrade Drinking Water Infrastructure

Monterey, CA – United States Representative Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) applauded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) announcement of a $128 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan to the City of Santa Cruz to upgrade its drinking water system to be more resilient to drought and climate change.  Santa Cruz will be able to better protect its water supply and deliver safe, reliable drinking water for nearly 100,000 residents. 

“Due to our intense droughts and severe weather, there is a lot of unpredictability with our water resources in California’s 19th Congressional District,” said Rep. Panetta.  “Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, we made a historic investment to transform our nation’s water systems like those in Santa Cruz, to be more resilient to these challenges.  Everyone deserves access to safe, reliable drinking water, and I’ll continue working to ensure the federal government does its part to safeguard that promise for our community in Santa Cruz.”   

Through this federal loan, Santa Cruz will modernize critical facilities by converting existing groundwater wells into aquifer storage and recovery wells and updating its raw water conveyance pipeline, allowing the city to maximize the use of all water sources in response to climate impacts.  The project will also support treatment process upgrades to address current and emerging contaminants, as well as source water quality variability.

The construction and operations for the project are estimated to create over 1,000 jobs.

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