As many as 12.8 million homes around the country get their water through lead pipes and service lines. The Build Back Better Act provides an additional $10 billion over the funding included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to replace lead service lines.

The $10 billion in the Build Back Better Act to replace lead service lines around the country would result in 52,500 direct, 33,800 indirect, and 47,500 induced jobs, a total of 133,800 jobs over 10 years. 

Our nation’s drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure is vital to the protection, treatment, and distribution of clean water. However, age, strain from population growth, lack of investment, the pervasiveness of lead pipes, and emerging threats from climate change have increased the burden on the current water infrastructure system and health risks to communities. The nation’s wastewater and drinking water infrastructure received grades of “D+” and “C-” by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), respectively.

The good news is that investing in our water infrastructure is a win-win. Water infrastructure investments will boost our economy and create and sustain thousands of jobs while ensuring communities have safe water and water systems resilient to climate change.

For that reason, it is vital that Congress preserve the lead service line funding in the Build Back Better Act. 

The $25 billion in both the IIJA and Build Back Better Act would result in 131,250 direct, 84,500 indirect, and 118,750 induced jobs, a total of 334,500 jobs over 10 years.