State Water Board adopts drinking water SRF intended-use plan, prioritizes failing and at-risk systems

The State Water Resources Control Board on Tuesday adopted an amended Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Intended Use Plan (IUP) that prioritizes projects addressing systems the board or Division of Drinking Water (DDW) considers "failing" or "at risk," while giving Division of Financial Assistance (DFA) staff limited discretion to fund projects that appear to be failing-equivalent even if not yet categorized as such.

Board Chair Joaquin Esquivel said the board received a long staff presentation and public comment before members voted unanimously to adopt the resolution and two change sheets that adjust grant caps and add implementation direction for staff.

The vote, taken by roll call, was 5–0 (Board members Laurel Firestone, Sean McGuire, Nicole Morgan, Vice Chair D’Adamo and Chair Esquivel voting aye). The board also postponed the related fund-expenditure plan to a later meeting.

Why it matters: The IUP sets which projects may receive federal capitalization grants and state SRF dollars and establishes eligibility and prioritization rules the DFA will use to invite and commit funds. The adopted changes reflect the board’s direction to focus limited grant and principal-forgiveness resources on systems with the most urgent public-health, reliability or capacity risks while adding operational flexibility to avoid leaving urgent projects stalled by categorization mismatches.

Most important points

- Funding available: Staff said approximately $1,040,000,000 is available for DWSRF projects in FY 2025–26, with additional federal capitalization grants conditioned on submittal of the IUP.

- Project prioritization: Staff recommended (and…