July 27, 2015 5:46 PM

First round of water project loans from SWIFT are approved

Loans ranged from $705,000 to $983 million in this first round of funding; the initial applications totaled $5.5 billion, of which $4 billion advanced.

The first round of loans out of the fund to underwrite the state’s water plan has moved swiftly through the Texas Water Development Board.

Administrator Amanda Lavin noted it had been only seven weeks between the notification of eligible candidates and the selection of plans to receive the first round of funding out of the State Water Implementation Fund of Texas or SWIFT.

The first year commitment of the loan fund is $1 billion, but the multi-year commitment is expect to be $3.9 billion of what ultimately will be a $27 billion plan. The revolving water fund, with low-interest and deferred loans, will work on a 10-year horizon of about $8 billion in funding, Lavin said.

By Kimberly Reeves