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WIN
Report
America's Drinking
Water and Wastewater Systems Face Monumental Funding Needs:
Coalition Calls on Federal Government to Help Fill the Gap
From AMSA — Links to the report are at the bottom of this
page.
(Washington, D.C.) - The nation's 54,000 drinking water systems and 16,000 wastewater
systems face staggering infrastructure funding needs of nearly $1 trillion over the next
20 years and shortfall of a half of a trillion dollars, according to Clean and Safe Water
for the 21st Century - a report released today by the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN).
Although America's drinking water and wastewater systems spend $23 billion per year for
infrastructure, they face an annual shortfall of another $23 billion to replace aging
facilities and comply with existing and future federal water regulations, the report says.
WIN is calling on the federal government to make investment in our critical drinking
water and wastewater infrastructure a national priority. Failure to meet these clean and
safe water investment needs of the next 20 years risks reversing the public health,
economic, and environmental gains of the last three decades, the report notes. Imagine a
day when community water systems are unable to treat drinking water to remove harmful
chemical and microbial contaminants that cause disease, or when wastewater treatment
plants are unable to prevent billions of tons of waste from entering rivers, lakes, and
estuaries.
“The benefits of drinking water and wastewater infrastructure to the nation's
well-being cannot be overstated,” says WIN. “Yet local governments and
ratepayers must fund 90 percent of clean and safe water infrastructure costs while
grappling with competing needs to educate children, maintain roads and transportation
systems, fight crime, and provide social services. The federal government should not make
communities choose between providing safe and clean water and funding other necessary
community programs. Nor should families be forced to pay unaffordable water rates. Better
solutions are needed.”
Without a significantly enhanced federal role in providing assistance to drinking water
and wastewater infra-structure, critical investments will not occur, the report notes.
According to WIN, there are a number of possible solutions. These include grants, trust
funds, loans, and incentives for private investment. “So, the question is not whether
the federal government should take more responsibility for drinking water and wastewater
improvements,” says WIN, “but how.”
The Water Infrastructure Network (WIN) is comprised of drinking water and
wastewater associations; local elected officials; state government organizations;
environmental organizations; and associations representing engineers, contractors,
fabricators, and water and wastewater equipment manufacturers — all dedicated to
preserving and protecting the hard-won public health, environmental and economic gains
provided by America's drinking water and wastewater infrastructure.
Files:
To read these downloadable files, you must have the
Adobe Acrobat Reader. It is available
under Key Links in the left-hand column of the SoCal Water Resources News.
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