The California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank board of directors approved $26 million in loan financing for the city of Santa Cruz for two wastewater improvement system projects, IBank officials said Thursday.
The funding will help the city replace and upgrade decades-old equipment with the aim of preventing costly repairs, protecting pipelines from corrosion, improving water quality and minimizing the risk of damage to the coastline, ocean and other surrounding waterways.
The loan will be funded from the state's
"The average person may take for granted the quality of their local sewer and wastewater treatment," said IBank Executive Director Scott Wu. "When these facilities operate well, we have the things we've come to expect every day — clean water to drink and bathe, a clean environment, clean beaches and oceans where we take our families to fish and swim."
The city "is committed to protecting our invaluable coastal ecosystem," said Kevin Crossley, assistant director and engineer for the City of Santa Cruz said in a statement.
"By financing these pipeline replacements and upgrades, IBank is helping to ensure we all continue to enjoy life as we know it — for both residents and tourists who vacation at the Santa Cruz coast," Wu said.
"Our latest wastewater treatment projects are a vital part of this effort, ensuring that we not only meet, but exceed, environmental standards," Crossley said.
Santa Cruz was particularly hard hit by record flooding in 2022 and 2023.
The city also secured a federal Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan
During the 2023 storms, the Newell Creek Pipeline, the main artery supplying water from Loch Lomond Reservoir to the Graham Hill Water Treatment Plant, was shut down due to storm damage and required emergency repairs.
Acquiring the loan to fund the various projects will help bolster and prepare the water supply infrastructure for the impacts of climate change, present and future, Santa Cruz Water Department Director Rosemary Menard said during an April 2023 city council meeting, according to a Santa Cruz Sentinel
Similar fixes were required in 2017, 2019 and 2020, according to the article. One of the proposed projects that will receive funding from the WIFIA loan includes replacing about 4.4 miles of the original pipeline, built in the 1960s, from inside Henry Cowell State Park, where it has been repeatedly damaged.
Specific projects the IBank loan funds include the Front-Spruce-Pacific 54-Inch Sewer Rehabilitation Project ($5.3 million), and the Headworks Rehabilitation Project for the Santa Cruz Wastewater Treatment Facility ($20.6 million).
The Front-Spruce-Pacific sewer line in downtown Santa Cruz was installed in 1966, according to an IBank staff report.
A 2022 inspection revealed surface damage, concrete damage, and corroded reinforcement within the pipeline and its related structures. The project focused on fixing deteriorating pipes, the rehabilitation of seven manholes, demolition, sewage flow control, and excavation support and protection. This has restored the structural integrity of the city's eastside sewer interceptor pipeline, preventing further deterioration and failure, and will also extend the pipeline's lifespan by at least 50 years.
The Headworks Wastewater Treatment Facility was originally constructed in 1965, and went through major upgrades in 1988, but those infrastructure upgrades are approaching the end of their useful life and require rehabilitation and replacement.
Construction began in summer 2024 and the Front-Spruce-Pacific project has been completed. The Headworks project is expected to be complete in December 2025.
