Where: San Bernardino County, Fairfield, California
Problem: Terrace Water Company needed to make significant improvements to its system.
Solution: RCAC provided gap financing so the company could access state funding.

Terrace Water Company (TWC) operates an older water system located in Southern California. Some of its customers’ service connections have inoperable meters or none at all. As a result, all TWC’s customers are charged a flat rate for water regardless of consumption. Terrace Water Company needed to install new water meters and an automated meter reading system on all its service connections to accurately measure water use and institute a tiered rate.

Furthermore, the city’s water system, which was originally constructed in 1953, suffered from several other significant problems: low water pressure, which didn’t meet state fire protection standards; limited water storage capacity, which restricted the number of connections that could be added to the system; and contaminants in the water supply.

Based on the American Community Survey, the median household income from 2009 to 2013 was $37,933.00, well below the state median of $44,927.

TWC received a commitment for long-term permanent financing from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) for the $1.1 million plus upgrade. However, significant engineering work needed to be completed before the state funding was made available and TWC did not have sufficient resources to pay for these expenses upfront. RCAC filled the gap with a $280,000 predevelopment loan to fund the engineering work, allowing TWC to access the state funding.