Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Program (CWIFP)

An official website of the United States government

Here's how you know

Official websites use .mil

A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.

Secure .mil websites use HTTPS

A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

US Army Corps of Engineers

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters Website

/ / / / /

The Corps plans to hold public webinars to provide information on the program, the rule, and application process. The schedule for these webinars will be posted at a later date.

WIFIA Final Rule Federal Register

FONSI and PEA, Final

CWIFP Fact Sheet

CWIFP Funding Fact Sheet

An Innovative Approach to Project Financing

By providing long-term, low cost loans, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers through the Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Program (CWIFP), as authorized by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA), enables local investment in infrastructure projects that address community water resource needs, promote economic prosperity, and improve environmental quality. Current appropriations enable the CWIFP to provide up to $7.5B+ in loans for maintaining, upgrading and repairing dams for any non-Federal borrowers. The program is open to projects or bundles of projects that have a total cost of $20M or more.

The draft rule for the CWIFP was published in the Federal Register in June 2022. “The Corps is taking a significant step to support our non-Federal partners by publishing the proposed rule for this federal credit program,” said Lt. Gen. Scott A. Spellmon, 55th Chief of Engineers and USACE commanding general. “This program will promote local investment in non-Federal dam safety projects, reducing risk to communities and providing an opportunity to address aging infrastructure needs.” Following public review, a final rule is expected to be published as soon as the Spring of 2023, allowing for the program to accept loan applications shortly thereafter.

Borrowers can realize savings of more than 20% over other financing options. Benefits of utilizing CWIFP over other financing options include:

Lower interest,
Consolidation of multiple projects into one loan,
Financing previously incurred costs for planning and design,
Long-term amortization (up to 35 years following construction),
Flexible repayment terms with the opportunity for capitalized interest, and
Sculpted principal repayment.

Want to know if CWIFP can work for your projects’ financing needs? Don’t hesitate to reach out to the CWIFP staff.

May 16, 2023 - The Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced the signing of a final rule to implement a new credit assistance program for dam safety projects. Read more here.

June 10, 2022 - The draft rule to establish CWIFP has been published in the Federal Register for public review and comment until August 9, 2022. The draft rule is a major step in the implementation of CWIFP.

To date, CWIFP has received a total of $81 million for credit subsidy and an additional $15.4 million for administration of the program. This will allow USACE to issue up to approximately $7.5 billion in loans to projects that are focused on maintaining, upgrading and repairing dams identified in the National Inventory of Dams as being owned by non-federal entities. More information on CWIFP funding can be found here.