Governor Lee, TDEC Announce $75 Million Loan for City of Columbia Water Infrastructure Water Improvements

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) Commissioner David Salyers today announced a $75 million loan for the City of Columbia to improve water infrastructure.

The City of Columbia loan comes from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Loan Program. It will help expand the capacity of the Columbia Power and Water System's (CPWS) existing drinking water treatment plant by 12 million gallons per day. The loan has a 30-year term with 3.06 percent interest.

The loan is one of four approved by the Tennessee Local Development Authority, with loans for the City of Maynardville, Town of Pegram, and City of Pikeville totaling $82.5 million.

"In Tennessee, we are balancing record growth with a plan to protect our natural resources, and that requires infrastructure investments," Gov Lee said. "These funds make water quality improvement projects affordable for local governments and provide critical resources for Tennesseans across the state, and we're grateful for local leaders' partnership."

"Providing dependable, safe water service is one of the most important issues that local communicates face," said Salyers. "We are grateful to partner with local leaders to provide towns and cities the assistance they need to meet their water infrastructure needs."

The Duck River Watershed Planning Partnership at its July 13th meeting voted to affirm this CPWS project and include it in its final report and recommendations that will be submitted to the governor and legislative leaders later this year.

Through the State Revolving Fund Loan Program, communities, utility districts, and water and wastewater authorities can obtain loans with lower interest rates than through private financing. These low-interest-rate loans can vary from zero percent to below market rate, based on each community's economic health.

This fiscal year, TDEC has awarded $75,000,000 in drinking water loans and $6,021,500 in clean water loans to meet the state's infrastructure needs. During fiscal year 2026, TDEC awarded $12,152,711 in drinking water loans and $60,629,000 in clean water loans for a total of $72,781,711.

Tennessee's Clean Water State Revolving Fund Loan Program has awarded more than $2.5 billion in low-interest loans since its inception in 1987. The state's Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Loan Program has awarded more than $550 million in low-interest loans since its inception in 1996.