Clean Water Fund Program Eligibility for Security Equipment

Are you planning a wastewater treatment plant modification or major upgrade? If so, consider planning for the future by including security measures as part of your construction project. The most cost-effective time to install security equipment is during construction of new facilities, compared to retrofitting existing buildings and structures.

Types of Security Equipment Eligible for Loan Funding Through the Clean Water Fund Program

Most security equipment is eligible for loans through the Clean Water Fund Program (CWFP) when it is included as part of an overall treatment plant upgrade. Examples of security equipment include:

• Barriers, fencing, and gates
• Security lighting
• Door and window locks
• Bars or mesh
• Proximity access card readers
• Motion and beam detectors
• Alarms
• Surveillance cameras and video or digital taping equipment
• Smoke and chemical detectors and alarms
• Glass-break detectors
• Emergency back-up generators
• Locking manhole covers
• Personal safety equipment
• Computer fire walls
• Anti-virus software programs

The CWFP may not be a cost-effective source of funding for security equipment installed as a separate “stand-alone” project with costs under $200,000. A better source of funding for separate security equipment projects under $1 million might be the DNR’s Small Loan Program. Stand-alone security projects would generally receive a very low score as a water quality project and may remain low on the funding priority list.

No federal or state regulations currently exist which require wastewater treatment plants to conduct a Vulnerability Assessment. The DNR encourages municipalities to complete a Vulnerability Assessment to assess the need for security measures, but the CWFP program will not require a municipality to prepare a Vulnerability Assessment in order to receive funding for security equipment.

Text from “The Clarifier”, Volume 160, April 2005. (www.wwoa.org)