PWSA CEO Will Pickering (second from right) and EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox (third from right) celebrate a $52.4 million loan PWSA received for Water Reliability Plan projects.

PWSA’s standing as a publicly owned and operated utility is a win for our customers. This status means every dollar we receive from customers is invested back into our water systems, a benefit for all of those we serve. At PWSA, it’s about service, not the bottom line – we don’t have shareholders and don’t generate a profit.

The financial picture I’m painting is to get at something of great importance to our customers. Because of our public status, we’re eligible for cost-effective, low-interest loans and grants from local, state, and federal funding sources. 

This kind of external funding keeps rates as low as possible during a time when we’re making unprecedented levels of investment in our essential water systems. 

In 2023, PWSA secured more than $150 million in new low-interest loans and $22 million in grant funding from a mix of federal and state programs. PWSA is committed to leveraging as many of these outside financing options as possible to minimize the burden to customers to pay for necessary upgrades to our aging water system.