PRESS RELEASE

Water Infrastructure NOW
 
   

                                                 

 

RECOMMENDATION FOR CLEAN AND SAFE WATER IN THE 21ST CENTURY
 
 

 

 

 


For Immediate Release                                                                         Contact: Lee Garrigan, AMSA

February 13, 2001                                                                                             (202) 833-4655

 

Groups Call for New Investment in America’s Water Infrastructure

Washington, D.C. – Congress should pass legislation this year to renew the nation’s commitment to clean and safe water, according to a new report from the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN), a non-partisan coalition of local elected officials, drinking water and wastewater service providers, environmental groups, labor unions, and construction and engineering professionals.

 

In the report released today, the network calls for a five-year, $57 billion federal investment in drinking water, sewer, and stormwater infrastructure to replace aging pipes, upgrade treatment systems, and continue to protect public health and the environment. The report also urges Congress to create a long-term, sustainable, and reliable source of federal funding for clean and safe water.

 

The report, entitled Water Infrastructure Now, states that the funding increase is urgently needed to help close a $23 billion per year gap between infrastructure needs and current spending.

 

Cities, counties, and other local agencies supply the public with tap water, and they collect, treat and dispose of sewage and urban runoff.  Local governments and their ratepayers currently cover 90 percent of the costs to build, operate and maintain public water and sewer systems.  But, as older systems deteriorate and water quality rules tighten, local budgets simply cannot keep pace.

 

“The staggering cost of maintaining, operating, rehabilitating, and replacing our aging water infrastructure requires a new partnership between federal, state and local government,” said Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer, President of the National League of Cities. “We call upon the new leadership in Washington to renew the federal financial commitment to assist local governments in meeting the growing water and wastewater infrastructure needs.”

 

To bridge the investment gap, the federal government should meet localities halfway – by authorizing an average of $11.5 billion in capitalization funds over five years – the report proposes.  States would receive the funds and in turn offer grants and loans to local agencies.  In an era of unprecedented federal surpluses, the time for renewing the nation’s commitment to its water resources is now, states the report.

 

Other legislative recommendations in the report include:

 

·        Authorizing a variety of financing mechanisms, such as grants, loans, loan subsidies and credit assistance;

·        Focusing on critical “core” water and wastewater infrastructure needs and nonpoint source pollution;

·        Streamlining the federal and state administration of infrastructure funds and adequately financing state programs;

·        Establishing a new program for technology and management innovation to reduce costs, prolong the life of America’s water infrastructure, and improve productivity; and

·        Providing expanded, targeted technical assistance to communities most in need.

 

Twenty-nine organizations have endorsed the Water Infrastructure Now recommendations.

 

American Coal Ash Association                                                ACAA

American Concrete Pipe Association                                        ACPA

American Concrete Pressure Pipe Association                          ACPPA

American Consulting Engineers Council                                     ACEC

American Public Works Association                                         APWA

American Society of Civil Engineers                                          ASCE

American Water Works Association                                         AWWA

Associated General Contractors of America                              AGC

Association of California Water Agencies                                  ACWA

Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies                       AMSA

Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies                             AMWA

California Rebuild America Coalition                                         CalRAC

Clean Water Action                                                                  CWA

Environmental and Energy Study Institute                                  EESI

Environmental Business Action Coalition                                   EBAC

International Union of Operating Engineers, AFL-CIO              IUOE

Laborers' International Union of North America                        LIUNA

National Association of Counties                                               NACo

National Association of Flood and

  Stormwater Management Agencies                                         NAFSMA

National Association of Towns and Townships                          NATaT

National League of Cities                                                          NLC

National Rural Water Association                                             NRWA

National Society of Professional Engineers                                NSPE

National Urban Agriculture Council                                           NUAC

Prestressed/Precast Concrete Institute                                       PCI

Rural Community Assistance Program, Inc.                               RCAP

Water Environment Federation                                                  WEF

WateReuse Association                                                            WateReuse

Western Coalition of Arid States                                               WESTCAS

 

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