On July 21, 2022, Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) Commissioners and staff gathered with state and local representatives at the HRSD James River Treatment Plant in Newport News to break ground on the first full-scale Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow (SWIFT) facility.

York County borrowed $32.2 million from the spring 2022 Virginia Pooled Financing Program issuance pool for several capital projects. The County secured the 20-year loan with a lease revenue pledge. Theresa Owens, York County Director of Finance, had this to say about the financing: “It is great to work with VRA again. They always make the financing process seamless while securing very competitive rates. This was especially important considering these are some of the largest projects we’ve done in the past few years.”

The Western Virginia Water Authority (Authority) and Roanoke Gas Company (Roanoke Gas) have entered into a cooperative agreement to produce commercial quality renewable natural gas, or RNG, from biogas produced at the Roanoke Regional Water Pollution Control Plant (WPC Plant). This RNG product, the first of its kind in the Commonwealth, will necessitate construction of a digester gas conditioning system and interconnect facility at the WPC Plant. Representatives from the Authority, Roanoke Gas and the community broke ground on this phase of the project on May 17, 2022.