Environment & Energy

Water Infrastructure

Issue
America’s water and wastewater systems face a funding gap of $300 to $500 billion over 20 years between current annual investments in water infrastructure and the investments that will be needed each year to repair deteriorating water and wastewater systems and meet the mandates of the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. Studies noting this funding gap have been prepared by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN) — of which ACEC is a member.

ACEC believes that new solutions are needed to address this gap, as federal contributions to water and wastewater infrastructure have fallen substantially in recent years. For example, funding for the EPA’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) program — one of the federal government’s primary funding programs for water infrastructure projects — has declined steadily over the years from its traditional level of $1.35 billion. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided a welcome one-time boost for the programs, providing $4 billion for the Clean Water SRF and $2 billion for the Drinking Water SRF, however substantially larger federal investments are needed to address the water infrastructure needs of communities.

Engineering firms work with state and local governments and communities to design solutions to prevent billions of tons of pollutants from reaching rivers, lakes and coastlines, protecting human health and safety. The industry is also designing new solutions to protect the public from contaminants in drinking water. These efforts not only protect our health and well-being, but contribute significantly to jobs and economic growth, particularly in those industries that depend on clean and safe water resources.

Both the House of Representatives and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed legislation in 2007 and 2008 reauthorizing and expanding the SRF program, but both bodies failed to complete work on a water package prior to adjournment. In March 2009, the House passed HR 1262 which is nearly identical to last year’s bill, providing $13.8 billion in authorized funding over five years. The measure also includes a requirement that SRF-funded projects use Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS) in the procurement of engineering services to ensure that tax dollars are well spent for water projects.

ACEC Position
ACEC strongly urges quick action by the Senate on a water infrastructure bill, and urges both the House and the Senate to complete the process this year and send a final bill to the President for his signature.