INDIANAPOLIS — Local water utilities whose ratepayers are unable to afford needed infrastructure improvements, such as new pipes, mains or leak controls, may get a helping hand from the state.
The Indiana House last week voted 97-0 for legislation establishing an assistance fund that would leverage $20 million in state revenue to support loans and grants to utilities, which, with timely repayments, ultimately could produce more than $2 billion in water system fixes over 20 years.
That nearly matches the $2.3 billion in water infrastructure repairs the Indiana Finance Authority in 2016 estimated are needed throughout the state.
Water Loss Through Leaks A Major Issue
Soliday said the leakage assessment is particularly important because the Indiana Finance Authority found the state’s 554 independent water systems collectively treat and distribute 50 billion gallons of water each year that never make it to a customer.
“We lose a lot of water because the pipes are old, and a lot of it that’s processed winds up leaking out into the system,” he said.
The legislation directs the finance authority to create a priority list for determining which water utilities get the first opportunity to access the fund.
At the same time, Soliday said the priority list “can be abridged, if there’s an emergency like Flint or something like that,” referring to the lead contamination in the Flint, Michigan, water supply.
The measure also requires at least 40 percent of the water infrastructure assistance fund be available only to utilities serving fewer than 3,200 customers.
“For some of our smaller water companies, there’s no way they have the rate base to pay for the things that need to be fixed,” Soliday said.