The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it has awarded Arkansas $53.1 million for drinking water and clean water infrastructure upgrades.
In a news release, the agency said the funds will support essential water infrastructure that protects public health and water bodies across the state. The funding is part of a $5.8 billion investment through the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, one of EPA’s signature water investment programs. Almost half of the funds awarded to Arkansas will be available as grants or principal forgiveness loans, ensuring funds reach underserved communities most in need of investments in water infrastructure.
The funding comes after Helena-West Helena’s water system failed for the second time in less than a year, renewing concerns about aging water infrastructure across the state.
The EPA funding is part of a $50 billion investment in water infrastructure upgrades from President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the largest such investment in American history. Since 2022, the law has injected $241 million into water infrastructure projects across the state.
Arkansas is one of twelve states participating in the Hypoxia Task Force, working to reduce the size of a hypoxic zone, an area with reduced oxygen levels, in the Gulf of Mexico. A portion of their Hypoxia Task Force funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, $500,000 will be used to reduce nutrients by constructing two-stage ditch floodplains in the Upper Cache River watershed. The outcome of this project will improve local water quality and downstream water quality in the Gulf of Mexico.
The EPA anticipates announcing allocations for billions of dollars in additional resources for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Lead Service Line Replacement fund later this spring.
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