The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has provided a $281 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan to a wastewater treatment facility in Kansas.
The Nelson Wastewater Treatment Facility is Johnson County Wastewater’s oldest treatment facility, dating back to the 1940s. The treatment technology currently in place is not capable of meeting future water quality standards, and a significant portion of the facility is at or near the end of its useful service life, according to the EPA. The loan will help to modernize the facility’s critical wastewater infrastructure to be more resilient to climate change while protecting water quality.
Specifically, improvements will include implementing biological nutrient removal upgrades and adding auxiliary treatment facilities to treat peak wet weather flows and biosolids processing, helping to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus discharges.
Upon completion of the project, the wastewater treat
