Aid_Content Page_Summary of financial assistance

Summary of financial assistance

Clean Water Fund Program and Safe Drinking Water Loan Program

Wisconsin provided over $8 billion in financial assistance to municipalities since state fiscal year (SFY) 1991 through its Environmental Improvement Fund (EIF) programs.

Total financial assistance provided: $8,060,161,002

This table provides the total amounts of financial assistance provided through the EIF programs between 05/01/1991 and 06/30/2025.
ProgramNumber of ProjectsLoanPrincipal ForgivenessSmall Loan SubsidyTotal Assistance Provided
Clean Water Fund Program1,450$6,098,143,138$434,774,135$33,943,774$6,566,861,047
Safe Drinking Water Loan Program571$1,115,077,977$129,299,402n/a$1,244,377,379
Safe Drinking Water Emerging Contaminants Program11$51,548,010$25,075,590n/a$76,623,600
Safe Drinking Water Lead Service Line Programs236$28,737,356$143,561,620n/a$172,298,976
TOTALS2,268$7,293,506,481$732,710,747$33,943,774$8,060,161,002

The amounts in this table do not include nearly $129 million of financial hardship grants that were awarded through 2017 and prior to statutory changes eliminating the Clean Water Fund Program's hardship financial assistance program. The elimination of this program was in concert with increased interest rate subsidy to help financially disadvantaged municipalities.

EIF Web Reports

The Environmental Improvement Fund Web Reports website allows anyone to access a municipal recipient's funding information and export it to Excel. The following reports are available:

Municipality Reports:

  • Loan Account History - shows loan disbursements, principal repaid and balance.
  • Loan Payment Schedule - shows the payment schedule based on date you select.
  • Payment History - shows principal and interest payments made.
  • Disbursement History - shows both loan and grant disbursements.

Auditor Reports:

  • Auditor Verification Report - for year-end financial audits.

Projects Map

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) State Revolving Fund Public Portal includes an interactive map of Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) projects that began or were amended since 2021. The projects included in this map are obtained from the database used by state revolving fund programs, including Wisconsin's programs, to report data to the EPA and are updated annually. The portal allows anyone to access data and create downloadable reports.

About EIF Programs

Wisconsin implements a state revolving loan fund, the Environmental Improvement Fund, that combines state funding with federal capitalization grants from the EPA's Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) to provide financial assistance to communities within Wisconsin for eligible water infrastructure projects. The EIF is administered jointly by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR)'s Environmental Loans Section and the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA)'s Capital Finance Office.

The EIF includes two financing programs (with subprograms) for local governments.

Clean Water Fund Program

The Clean Water Fund Program (CWFP) is Wisconsin's CWSRF program. Since 1991, the CWFP provides affordable financial assistance to municipalities for wastewater and water quality-related storm water infrastructure projects. Common projects include sewer replacement or rehabilitation, and wastewater treatment facility/plant upgrades. The CWFP is the successor to the EPA Construction Grant Program. The CWFP's subprograms include:

Safe Drinking Water Loan Program

The Safe Drinking Water Loan Program (SDWLP) is Wisconsin's DWSRF program. Since 1998, the SDWLP provides affordable financial assistance to local governments for drinking water infrastructure projects. Common projects include new wells, wellhouse rehabilitation, storage facility and watermain replacements. The SDWLP subprograms include:

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Informational Paper

The Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau's Informational Paper on the Environmental Improvement Fund describes the background of the separate financing programs for local governments, financial assistance criteria, components of the programs, special provisions and program administration. This informational paper is published in odd-numbered years.

Intended Use Plans

The program's annual intended use plan (IUP) identifies the use of federal capitalization grant monies and other monies in the fund, how the program supports the goals of the Clean Water Act or Safe Drinking Water Act and describes how the program will operate during the applicable year. Each draft IUP is available for public comment prior to finalization. The final IUP is included in the DNR's federal capitalization grant application to the EPA.

Annual Reports

The annual reports describe the portions of the programs funded by the Clean Water and Drinking Water SRFs and the activities that occurred during the applicable year. As required, the DNR provides annual reports to the EPA.

Audited EIF Financial Statements

The audited EIF financial statements are referenced in the annual reports.

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Contact Information

Direct questions about EIF financial management and the EIF Web Reports to:

DOA Capital Finance Office at DOAEIF@Wisconsin.gov

Direct questions about the intended use plans and annual reports to:

Casey Sweeney, DNR clean water federal liaison and policy analyst

Suzy Hasheider, DNR safe drinking water federal liaison and policy analyst

Direct program questions to:

Lisa Bushby, Clean Water Fund Program coordinator

Noah Balgooyen, Safe Drinking Water Loan Program coordinator

Direct general questions about the EIF or its programs to:

Matt Marcum, Environmental Loans Section manager

Becky Scott, Environmental Loans Section manager

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