In March, Democrats in the Senate released a $1 trillion plan to invest in America’s infrastructure — a plan in which the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) says clean water occupies a well-deserved front-and-center position in the infrastructure conversation.
Specifically, the plan would provide $115 billion in federal investment over 10 years (or an average of $11.5 billion per year) for water infrastructure, divided equally between water and wastewater. These levels of funding would be unprecedented for water and wastewater — more than a tripling of current funding levels — and reflect a recognition of the significant water infrastructure investment needs that local utilities face in providing vital services in an affordable manner, while also achieving compliance with a growing array of federal and state regulatory requirements.
In addition to the funding provisions, the plan includes important policy provisions including bipartisan support for integrated planning concepts and improving the resiliency of federal investments.
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NACWA applauded and thanked Senate Democrats for including vital policy issues in which NACWA, in partnership with other stakeholders, has strongly advocated.
This plan for modernizing American infrastructure joins the recently released White House Infrastructure Plan, which proposes an alternative path forward focused heavily on leveraging local, state, and private spending.
NACWA says it looks forward to working closely with Congress to advance infrastructure legislation on a bipartisan basis. The association also urged Congress to take the best of all the ideas proposed to achieve the shared goal of advancing America’s infrastructure, which includes ensuring clean and safe water as a top priority and strengthening an infrastructure network that supports the nation’s economy, environment and quality of life.
Source: NACWA
