The Arizona Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA) has initiated a flexible, multi-phase pathway to securing new, long-term sources of water for the state.
WIFA officials will use a competitive process supported by Arizona’s Long-term Water Augmentation Fund (LTWAF) to identify, vet, and select partners and projects that will provide Arizona with new sources of water.
The competitive project development approach will be a multi-phase process consistent with the State’s established procurement rules and with legislation defining WIFA’s roles and authorities.
The first phase will begin in late 2024 when WIFA issues a competitive solicitation.
Through the solicitation, WIFA will seek responses from fully formed teams of project proposers with demonstrated experience in engineering, constructing, operating, maintaining, and financing water augmentation projects. WIFA will evaluate the qualifications of project proposers through their answers to detailed questions and criteria contained in the solicitation. WIFA will then contract with successful proposers to further develop their projects, directing them to provide WIFA with additional information necessary to evaluate the viability of each proposal. Projects remaining after this analysis may enter the final phases of the process, through which WIFA will address final project designs, permitting, and implementation.
WIFA’s Long-Term Augmentation Committee, a subset of WIFA’s Board of Directors, worked through the Spring and Summer to draft the initial solicitation. At a meeting on Oct. 30, the committee recommended approval of the solicitation document. The full Board will vote on whether to accept the committee’s recommendation at its next meeting on Nov. 20.
“This transparent, multi-phase process maximizes WIFA’s ability to capitalize on private-sector innovation, laying the foundation for successful public-private partnerships to bring secure, renewable water sources to Arizona,” said Chuck Podolak, WIFA executive director.
Entities with an interest in this process or future phases of project development are encouraged to participate in the solicitation.
The LTWAF was established by the Arizona State Legislature in 2022 to help finance water supply development. By statute, at least 75 percent of the funds must be used for opportunities that import water through partnerships from outside the state, and up to 25 percent of the funds may be available for in-state augmentation projects.
For more on the LTWAF and the augmentation development process, visit ltwaf.azwifa.gov.
About WIFA
WIFA is Arizona’s administrator of the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (CWSRF and DWSRF), providing low-interest loans and technical assistance to water and clean water infrastructure projects, as well as three additional funds aimed at conserving water and identifying new supplies. Over the last 30 years, WIFA has invested nearly $3 billion in communities throughout the state.
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