FOR: Water Subcommittee Meeting [January 24, 2024]
TO: Honorable Water Subcommittee Members
APPROVAL: Stephen Dopudja, P.E., Interim Utilities Manager
Toyasha Sebbag, Assistant to the City Manager
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Update on the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) Loan Agreement by and between the City of Rialto/Rialto Utility Authority Board and Rialto Water Services.
(RECEIVE AND FILE)
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BACKGROUND:
On July 13, 2021, the City/Rialto Utility Authority (RUA) authorized Rialto Water Services (RWS) to submit a Water Infrastructure Finance Innovation Act (WIFIA) Letter of Intent (LOI) application for the 2021 funding cycle on behalf of the City/RUA. The application was authorized for the following projects: Lake Rialto, Rialto Microgrid, Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), and Security for Utility Sites. RWS was further authorized to contract with Black and Vetch to assist them in preparing the LOI for a not-to-exceed amount of $30,000. The City/RUA agreed to share in the cost of preparing the LOI by splitting the cost with the City's portion not exceeding $15,000.
In March 2022, RWS received notification from WIFIA that they were invited to submit a loan application for $68 million for the projects identified in the WIFA LOI.
On January 25, 2023, at the Water Subcommittee Meeting, staff and RWS/Veolia updated the list of Capital Improvement Projects that could be considered for the WIFIA and State Revolving Fund (SRF) Loan Applications. A presentation was provided on the list of projects and the updated cost estimates. The list proposed a 5-year Capital Improvement Project from 2024 to 2028 for $39,050,000 for water and $90,820,000 for wastewater, with a total proposed cost of $129,870,000.
On March 30, 2023, RWS submitted a joint RWS/RUA application to WIFIA to fund $67,789,073 in CIP. This amount would cover the total estimated eligible project cost of $138,345,046. The slightly higher cost than the Janu...
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