After Year-Long Process Seeking Input, SWIFT Rules Adopted

Texas Water Development Board action opens application process for funds

Applications are officially open for funding from the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT). Rules were adopted Thursday by the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) that will open up a new revenue source for much needed water-related projects that are part of the current State Water Plan. 

TWDB Chair Carlos Rubinstein (pictured) called adoption of the rules an “historic day” for Texas and for the future of the state’s water supplies. “Each project funded by the SWIFT will take us one step closer to being drought-resilient,” he said. The board chair added that the funds will be allocated for projects that affect Texas citizens in both urban and rural areas. “The projects will be diverse, from conserving and maintaining a current water supply, to innovative technology that taps into new sources of water.”

SWIFT was approved by Texas voters last November as a constitutional amendment. It provided for the one-time transfer of $2 billion from the state’s rainy day fund, to be used for low-cost loans for water projects. The adoption of the rules is the culmination of a year’s worth of study and work sessions and meetings throughout the state, seeking stakeholder and public input. 

To apply for SWIFT funding, entities must submit an abridged application to the TWDB by Feb. 3, 2015. The abridged application will provide information necessary for TWDB to prioritize projects. The projects will then be ranked according to SWIFT prioritization rules approved Thursday. Those projects given priority approval for funding must then submit a full application, including an environmental, engineering, financial and legal review. More information is available on the TWDB Web site.

This story was originally published on the Texas Government Insider, a publication of Strategic Partnership, Inc. and is reprinted here through a news partnership.  |  @CorridorNews