Reports related to this article:
Project(s): View 10 related projects in PECWeb
Plant(s): View 10 related plants in PECWeb
en
Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Public-private partnerships may be the only way to build billions of dollars of much-needed water projects across the country. That's the way Texas is going, so will Colorado and other states follow? That was the topic of a discussion at the Colorado Water Summit, held last week in Denver under the sponsorship of Information Forecast Incorporated (Infocast) (Woodland Hills, California).
Across the U.S., Industrial Info is tracking more than $3 billion of water-related projects, including several desalination projects under development in Texas and California; wastewater treatment plans at chemical processing facilities; and water-treatment projects at mines, refineries and power stations.
About $14 billion of water projects have been built in Texas since the 1950s, but population growth, industrial growth and severe drought have combined to parch the Lone Star State at a time when its tax revenues have soared. So last November, Texas voters overwhelmingly voted to create the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) and transfer $2 billion to it from the state's general revenue fund. SWIFT's mission is to "assist in the financing of priority projects in the state water plan to ensure the availability of adequate water resources," Carlos Rubinstein, chairman of the Texas Water Resources Board (Austin, Texas), told the water conference attendees.
SWIFT will loan funds and partner with other entities to ensure that water projects--ranging from water-storage reservoirs to water treatment plants to water-efficiency programs--move forward in Texas. Rubinstein estimates that efficient use of the $2 billion loan fund will result in up to $27 billion of much-needed water projects over the next 50 years. He said the state has about $53 billion of water projects on the drawing board over the next five decades. The fund's first disbursements will be made in 2015.
The fund will not make outright grants, but through a variety of mechanisms, including loans at potentially below-market interest rates, extended loan repayment terms and loan repayment deferrals, it aims to stretch and recycle its financial resources to ensure Texas builds the water projects it needs. Only political subdivisions of the State of Texas and non-profit water supply corporations will be eligible for funding through SWIFT. At least 20% of SWIFT's funding will support water conservation and reuse projects, and at least 10% of its funding will support water projects serving Texas farmers and rural communities.
"Water conservation projects will produce the cheapest water we're going to get," Rubinstein told the conference attendees. For more on the importance of conservation in helping states like Colorado meet future water demand, see March 6, 2014, article - Experts: Conservation is Best Way to Preserve Scarce Water for Oil & Gas Drilling in Colorado.
But SWIFT also earmarks about 43% of its capital to support new supply development and 45% to support other surface water strategies, he added. The latter two categories of projects could mean construction of new water-storage reservoirs, water wells, water treatment plants, water pipelines and wastewater treatment plants.
Texas may be unusual in that its state coffers have been filled by tax receipts from years of surging oil & gas development. But other states where hydrocarbon production is surging, including Colorado, are closely following how the Lone Star State is working to meet future water demand from all segments--industrial firms, municipalities and homeowners.
The Colorado Property-Assessed Clean Energy (CPACE) program, enacted last year by the state legislature, seeks to provide affordable financing for water and energy conservation measures for industrial and commercial firms, water storage projects, water-treatment plants and wastewater treatment plants, State Senator Gail Schwartz told conference attendees. Schwartz sponsored that measure last year. Schwartz, whose district spans several cities on Colorado's Western Slope, opposes water transfers from Western Colorado, which gets most of the state's annual precipitation, to Eastern Colorado, where most of the state's population lives.
"Colorado has a need for over 800 water projects with total costs of about $11 billion, but we're in line for only about $27 million of EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] funding," Schwartz said. "We need creative public-private partnerships to address our water situation and to make commercial and industrial facilities more energy efficient. There are significant cross-over savings for energy when you make a facility more water-efficient. Rather than dribble out $27 million of funding when we have $11 billion of needs, let's create more thoughtful and strategic options."
View Plant Profile - 1058153 3038247 3009764 3031747 1512964 1512964 3025071 3025071 1059094 1031727 1016312 1013299
View Project Report - 6003773 300047429 300015664 300039541 300007194 300031639 300129789 300021061 300075145 300155898
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and nine international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
Across the U.S., Industrial Info is tracking more than $3 billion of water-related projects, including several desalination projects under development in Texas and California; wastewater treatment plans at chemical processing facilities; and water-treatment projects at mines, refineries and power stations.
About $14 billion of water projects have been built in Texas since the 1950s, but population growth, industrial growth and severe drought have combined to parch the Lone Star State at a time when its tax revenues have soared. So last November, Texas voters overwhelmingly voted to create the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) and transfer $2 billion to it from the state's general revenue fund. SWIFT's mission is to "assist in the financing of priority projects in the state water plan to ensure the availability of adequate water resources," Carlos Rubinstein, chairman of the Texas Water Resources Board (Austin, Texas), told the water conference attendees.
SWIFT will loan funds and partner with other entities to ensure that water projects--ranging from water-storage reservoirs to water treatment plants to water-efficiency programs--move forward in Texas. Rubinstein estimates that efficient use of the $2 billion loan fund will result in up to $27 billion of much-needed water projects over the next 50 years. He said the state has about $53 billion of water projects on the drawing board over the next five decades. The fund's first disbursements will be made in 2015.
The fund will not make outright grants, but through a variety of mechanisms, including loans at potentially below-market interest rates, extended loan repayment terms and loan repayment deferrals, it aims to stretch and recycle its financial resources to ensure Texas builds the water projects it needs. Only political subdivisions of the State of Texas and non-profit water supply corporations will be eligible for funding through SWIFT. At least 20% of SWIFT's funding will support water conservation and reuse projects, and at least 10% of its funding will support water projects serving Texas farmers and rural communities.
"Water conservation projects will produce the cheapest water we're going to get," Rubinstein told the conference attendees. For more on the importance of conservation in helping states like Colorado meet future water demand, see March 6, 2014, article - Experts: Conservation is Best Way to Preserve Scarce Water for Oil & Gas Drilling in Colorado.
But SWIFT also earmarks about 43% of its capital to support new supply development and 45% to support other surface water strategies, he added. The latter two categories of projects could mean construction of new water-storage reservoirs, water wells, water treatment plants, water pipelines and wastewater treatment plants.
Texas may be unusual in that its state coffers have been filled by tax receipts from years of surging oil & gas development. But other states where hydrocarbon production is surging, including Colorado, are closely following how the Lone Star State is working to meet future water demand from all segments--industrial firms, municipalities and homeowners.
The Colorado Property-Assessed Clean Energy (CPACE) program, enacted last year by the state legislature, seeks to provide affordable financing for water and energy conservation measures for industrial and commercial firms, water storage projects, water-treatment plants and wastewater treatment plants, State Senator Gail Schwartz told conference attendees. Schwartz sponsored that measure last year. Schwartz, whose district spans several cities on Colorado's Western Slope, opposes water transfers from Western Colorado, which gets most of the state's annual precipitation, to Eastern Colorado, where most of the state's population lives.
"Colorado has a need for over 800 water projects with total costs of about $11 billion, but we're in line for only about $27 million of EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] funding," Schwartz said. "We need creative public-private partnerships to address our water situation and to make commercial and industrial facilities more energy efficient. There are significant cross-over savings for energy when you make a facility more water-efficient. Rather than dribble out $27 million of funding when we have $11 billion of needs, let's create more thoughtful and strategic options."
View Plant Profile - 1058153 3038247 3009764 3031747 1512964 1512964 3025071 3025071 1059094 1031727 1016312 1013299
View Project Report - 6003773 300047429 300015664 300039541 300007194 300031639 300129789 300021061 300075145 300155898
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and nine international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
