The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) has approved the inaugural round of funding from the US$ 3.9 billion State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) ten-year financial assistance programme.
The board approved requests from 21 applicants for some US$ 1 billion in projects in the first year and totalling about US$ 3.9 billion over the next decade.
These projects represent 32 water management strategies identified in the state water plan. The types of projects include transmission pipelines, canal linings, capacity expansions, seawater desalination, leak detection systems, water meter replacements, reservoirs, and include conservation, agricultural, and rural projects.
The TWDB approved the SWIFT programme rules in November 2014. Interested entities were then invited to submit an abridged application to the TWDB in February 2015. A total of 48 applications were received and 39 projects were invited to submit full, detailed applications by June 5, 2015.