Water Finance Exchange (WFX)

We're proud to announce the launch of our municipal advisory firm, Water Finance Exchange Municipal Advisors (WFXMA), to further our mission of helping communities access funding, financing, and expertise to implement resilient, sustainable, and equitable water infrastructure solutions.? WFXMA is an expansion of the technical assistance services provided by WFX. When seeking state or federal funding for water and wastewater projects, communities often confront affordability challenges. WFXMA can assist with structuring state and federal loans around existing cash flows to minimize rate impact and maintain financial capacity. The firm will help communities understand financing options to fund infrastructure projects and structure loans or bonds. “WFXMA is a natural extension of the technical assistance Water Finance Exchange already provides communities in need,” said Rogelio Rodriguez, Director of WFXMA. “We help communities plan for projects and secure funding. WFXMA can now help communities access financial markets to bring their sustainable water and wastewater infrastructure projects across the finish line.” Read the full press release here: https://lnkd.in/etizKuTh

WFX has partnered with Hill Country Alliance to work with the City of Camp Wood. The City has had a rough go of it, but with their dedicated City Secretary and a motivated City Council, they've been able to secure help from several technical assistance partners. Our work with Camp Wood focuses primarily on finding grant and loan funding to address their aging infrastructure and urgent water supply needs as their existing water source, the Old Faithful spring, is struggling to keep up with capacity in the face of droughts. In addition to getting their financial statements up-to-date and finding an engineer to work with them, WFX is assisting the City with complex but necessary regulatory reporting requirements?and bureaucratic funding processes.

Last week, WFX traveled to the City of Melvin with partners from Texas Rural Water Association (TRWA) and Texas American Water Works Association Small Systems Division. We brought in these other Technical Assistance Providers to help us holistically fill gaps in financial, operational, technical, and management expertise with small and rural communities throughout the country. The City Council was impressed and surprised by how many resources are out there for systems like theirs

On August 29, 2024, WFX, in collaboration with the Angelina & Neches River Authority and Deep East Texas Council of Governments & Economic Development District, convened an “On-Ramp to Funding” workshop in Lufkin, TX. This workshop brought together engineers, accountants, auditors, operators, and technical assistance providers to discuss the process of applying for Federal and State funding from the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), including the highly sought-after State Revolving Funds (SRFs) with small and rural water system managers. Participants shared information on application prerequisites, how best to maximize an applicant’s points scored in the SRF ranking process, and the timeline for submitting applications for TWDB’s consideration. Read the full workshop report here: https://lnkd.in/exsSuUdU

WFX's Lia Clark, EIT and Jackson Parr are the Technical Assistance (TA) Guest speakers at the Southern SRF Cohort session this afternoon. This essential project is convened by PolicyLink, with River Network providing training to the group. They'll talk to leaders from the following organizations about comprehensive TA work and share stories of WFX's support in communities throughout the Southeast. - Bayou City Waterkeeper (TX)? - Rio Grande International Study Center (TX)? - Coalition for Environment, Equity and Resilience (CEER)(TX)? - West Street Recovery (TX)? - The Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans (LA)? - FISH (Fishermen Involved in Sustaining Our Heritage) (LA)? - Alliance for Affordable Energy (LA)? - United Houma Nation Inc (LA – state recognized tribe)? - Alabama Rivers Alliance (AL)? - Southern Poverty Law Center (Alabama Office)? - The Capacity Collaborative (AL)? - Blackbelt Women Rising (AL)? - Harpeth Conservancy (TN)? - Protect Our Aquifer (TN)? - Native American Indian Association of Tennessee (TN)? - Young, Gifted & Green? (TN)

Distributed water infrastructure can be a viable solution to current and future water challenges. Last week, following #WEFTEC24, the Water Environment Federation Distributed Water Infrastructure Task Force published a technical paper on the current state of water infrastructure and sustainable ways to meet future water needs, highlighting the benefits that distributed water infrastructure can provide for small, rural water systems. WFX's own Rogelio Rodriguez serves on the task force and was an expert contributor to this paper.

WFX believes in meeting communities where they are in the context of governance, finances, and need.?WFX staff have been assisting Candelaria WSC for years, under the?leadership of Presidio County and as a standalone system. This past Saturday, Candelaria WSC's annual meeting was the first in several years to name board leadership and continue to address specific waters issues like high arsenic levels, necessary valve replacements, and meters.?The WSC has come a long way by addressing these needs, and we are honored to continue to support Candelaria as they continue their water infrastructure journey.

In addition to our workshop in Tennessee, WFX staff were also in El Paso yesterday, connecting with technical assistance partners, government agencies, and community leaders to host a convening about water, broadband, and community development in West Texas. Thank you to A.Y.U.D.A., DigDeep, Project Vida, Rio Grande Council of Governments, and Communities Unlimited for working with us!

WFX and Communities Unlimited welcomed nearly 50 community leaders, state and federal agency staff members, and community organizations in Millington, Tennessee, yesterday to discuss water and wastewater infrastructure needs in the Western part of the state. Topics included sustainable water rate implementation, state and federal funding opportunities, and technical assistance. Thank you to all the panelists, organizers, and attendees for making this workshop possible!

When Val Verde County reached out, WFX answered the call. The County is home to many rural water and wastewater systems, including the system pictured here. We are working with the County Judge and Commissioners to make sure these small and remote systems can still access the resources they need to be sustainable.?