Using WIFIA Funding for High Priority Gravity Sewer Rehabilitation Projects

Tohopekaliga Water Authority (“TWA”) is facing similar challenges that municipalities are encountering nationwide, including how to proactively assess and identify priority infrastructure for rehabilitation, and how to fund the necessary improvements prior to them becoming emergency repairs. The construction of the existing system infrastructure within TWA’s service area was sub-standard and most of system issues were inherited by TWA in 2007. Over time, the system infrastructure has declined and is currently in a state of disrepair; thus, creating emergency repairs, added costs, and greater impacts to the community. TWA has been proactive in assessing their collection system infrastructure and identifying the top 20% of their system with respect to high consequence gravity interceptors, gravity mains within primary roadways, and mains within known high infiltration areas of their system. Accordingly, TWA is actively pursuing an aggressive rehabilitation program to minimize the escalation of repair costs once they become emergencies. Currently, funding for the rehabilitation projects is coming from funds on-hand, which is a primary constraint to moving forward quickly. Receiving the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) funding will allow the sewer main replacement to move forward approximately twice as quickly as the projects would without WIFIA funding. The current frequency of sewer repairs that must be addressed on an emergency basis impact the availability of funds budgeted to address collection system deficiencies identified by the in-house assessment program on a proactive basis (prior to failure). WIFIA funding will expedite assessment in the identified troubled areas and allow known and discovered deficiencies to be addressed prior to failure. This will reduce the current expenditures that are characteristic of emergency repairs; namely expedited mobilization/demobilization, maintenance of traffic, replacement versus rehabilitation, and restoration costs.