Akron leverages state sponsorship program to cut financing costs for $4.8M wastewater upgrade

Akron leverages state sponsorship program to cut financing costs for $4.8M wastewater upgradeBy sponsoring a neighboring city's ecological restoration project, Akron will secure an interest rate reduction from the Ohio EPA, saving $90,000 on a 28-year loan for electrical upgrades at its Water Reclamation Facility.

Akron will sponsor a dam removal and culvert restoration project along Schocalog Run in Fairlawn through the Ohio EPA's Water Resource Restoration Sponsor Program.

The zero-cost sponsorship qualifies Akron for a lower interest rate on a $4.8 million, 28-year loan for secondary treatment electrical upgrades.

The loan's interest rate will drop from 3.4% to 3.34%, yielding roughly $90,000 in long-term savings.

City documents also highlight recent contract approvals with Veolia Water Services and Raftelis Financial Consultants for utility support.

The City of Akron is utilizing a state environmental sponsorship program to lower the capital costs of upgrading its Water Reclamation Facility (WRF). During a March 2, 2026, meeting of the Public Service, Public Utilities, and Green Committee, officials advanced a sponsorship agreement with the neighboring City of Fairlawn under the Ohio EPA's Water Resource Restoration Sponsor Program (WRRSP). The arrangement allows Akron to sponsor a water resource restoration project in Fairlawn at no cost to Akron, in exchange for a discounted borrowing rate on its own utility capital projects. According to city staff member Mr. Luttrell, the Fairlawn project involves removing an earthen dam and opening enclosed culverts along Schocalog Run to create a new floodplain through the former Rosemont Country Club property. The watershed eventually flows into the Tuscarawas River. Akron will apply the WRRSP financial benefits to an upcoming secondary treatment electrical system upgrade at its WRF, which is currently out for bid. The city is financing the $4.8 million upgrade with a 28-year loan. By acting as a sponsor, Akron will see its interest rate reduced from 3.4% to 3.34%, a move that Luttrell estimated will save the city approximately $90,000 over the life of the loan. "We always look to sponsor one of our own programs that we are doing. We didn't have anything really to qualify on this one. So we looked to the Ohio EPA and they suggested this one," Luttrell told the committee, which subsequently moved the ordinance to the consent agenda. Beyond the WRRSP agreement, meeting documents indicate that Akron has recently moved forward with several other major water and wastewater initiatives. These include a support services contract for the Akron Water Bureau with Veolia Water Services North America, a firm with an established footprint operating municipal water and wastewater systems in Ohio cities like Dayton and Englewood. Other initiatives include a customer information system implementation contract with Raftelis Financial Consultants, and the acceptance of EPA Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding for the removal of a low-head dam on the Little Cuyahoga River.