TWDB: federal/state solicitations begin in December; House Bill 500 one‑time funds available for water infrastructure

Officials from the Texas Water Development Board told the work group that TWDB will begin solicitations in December for federal programs and certain state programs, and they encouraged prospective applicants to attend regional financial-assistance workshops.

Keta (TWDB) explained that federal applications (project information forms) and state abridged applications open in December and typically remain open for several months. On the federal side TWDB’s State Revolving Funds (SRF) currently include supplemental funding streams such as lead-service-line work and emerging-contaminant projects; those supplemental allocations were provided for a five‑year period and are nearing exhaustion, while the core SRF remains available.

Keta said implementation work is underway for House Bill 500, a one‑time state appropriation that will provide funds to address infrastructure needs, including dollars that can serve as match for federal programs. She described a funding figure of about $1.3 billion available under HB500 but said implementation timing will determine when portions of that appropriation are announced.

TWDB staff also promoted upcoming regional financial-assistance workshops (for example in Corpus Christi), which will review eligible activities, program rules, and offer one-on-one discussions with applicants. Keta asked attendees to check TWDB web pages and newsletters for announcements and to plan applications after solicitations open in December.

Evidence in the record: TWDB presentation described program names and timing, noted supplemental SRF allocations are near the end of their five‑year term, and identified HB500 as a one‑time appropriation to implement with agency guidance and matching strategies.