Clean Water Fund Program (CWFP)

Environmental Loans Clean Water Fund Program and Safe Drinking Water Loan Program Loan Capacity Update Due to continued high demand for financial assistance, loan capacity limitations may impact State Fiscal Year 2026 CWFP and SDWLP applications. For more information, go to our Loan Capacity webpage . Wisconsin provided over $8 billion in financial assistance to municipalities since State Fiscal Year 1991 through the Environmental Improvement Fund (EIF) programs. View the financial assistance summary and annual reports . The Clean Water Fund Program (CWFP) and the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program (SDWLP) provide affordable financial assistance to communities within Wisconsin for eligible water infrastructure projects that protect and improve public health and water quality for current and future generations. Eligible projects include those that are needed to achieve or maintain compliance with federal and state regulations relating to wastewater treatment and drinking water supply. Highlights Online application system. Fixed interest rate on 20-year loan term. Program subsidy buys down market rate on program loan. Standard interest rate is 55% of market rate. Coordination with other funding sources. Dedicated DNR loan project manager and construction management engineer. The Clean Water Fund Program and the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program can finance construction as it takes place, refinance interim debt used to design and construct a project and reimburse internal funds a municipality temporarily used to pay for project costs before receiving its subsidized (low interest) loan through the CWFP or the SDWLP. In recent years, additional subsidization of program loans in the form of principal forgiveness (PF) has been available to economically disadvantaged municipalities. INTENDED USE PLAN To learn how funds will be allocated to eligible projects of applicants (municipalities), read the program's intended use plan (IUP) for the corresponding state fiscal year funding cycle. The DNR produces an annual funding policy for each the CWFP and the SDWLP in the form of an IUP that describe methods for making funding determinations and other program policies related to the fiscal year. The IUP is not all encompassing, it is meant to be used in conjunction with the governing laws. For each program, there is specific project eligibility criteria, a scoring and ranking system, and specific deadlines. The program implementation details are established in the applicable governing statutes and administrative codes . Clean Water Fund Program The Clean Water Fund Program (CWFP) provides subsidized loans to municipalities for publicly owned wastewater treatment and collection system infrastructure projects. It includes projects for compliance with a municipality's Wisconsin Pollution Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) permit. Clean Water Emerging Contaminants (CW-EC) Program provides funding to municipalities for water quality projects that will reduce or eliminate any detectable levels of any PFAS contaminant compound for which a surface water quality standard or recommended Wisconsin Department of Health Services groundwater standard exists. Funding for wastewater disinfection . Pilot Projects Program provides a subsidy to municipalities seeking to fund water quality trading projects and other non-traditional projects ( projects not related to a wastewater treatment plant upgrade). Priority Principal Forgiveness (Priority PF) points and criteria for regionalization, phosphorus reduction, and energy efficiency projects. Small Loans Program is currently suspended. Storm water projects must lead to or provide treatment to control discharged water quality in order to be eligible for funding from the CWFP. Safe Drinking Water Loan Program The Safe Drinking Water Loan Program (SDWLP) provides subsidized loans to municipalities for public drinking water system and infrastructure projects.

The Clean Water Fund Program (CWFP) and the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program (SDWLP) provide affordable financial assistance to communities within Wisconsin for eligible water infrastructure projects that protect and improve public health and water quality for current and future generations. Eligible projects include those that are needed to achieve or maintain compliance with federal and state regulations relating to wastewater treatment and drinking water supply. Highlights