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Help us identify ways to turn today’s environmental challenges into job-creating and economic opportunities!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.
The Challenge
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. In 2021, the nation’s wastewater and drinking water infrastructure received grades of “D+” and “C-” by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), respectively.
The aging state of our nation’s water infrastructure is also staggeringly wasteful. Many U.S. communities rely on pipes that are a century old. These pipes leak 6 billion gallons of drinking water daily. Additionally, there are an estimated 250,000-300,000 water main breaks per year in the United States—or 700 per day.
Maintenance and improvement of water infrastructure are becoming increasingly difficult for communities to afford. As these costs are passed on to consumers, existing affordability problems are exacerbated for many communities and individuals across the country. The cost of water and wastewater services has more than doubled in the past twenty years; at the same time, low- and moderate-income households have essentially remained unchanged.
Lead in Drinking Water
As many as 12.8 million homes around the country get their water through lead pipes and service lines and approximately 400,000 schools and child care centers. Lead is a toxic metal that harms the brain and nervous system and is especially harmful during pregnancy and infancy when it can decrease IQs, diminish academic abilities, and increase attention deficits and problem behaviors. Even the lowest blood lead levels can affect the developing brain and central nervous system, having irreversible effects. In adults, lead can cause increased blood pressure, heart disease, decreased kidney function, and cancer.
Communities of color and lower-income communities often bear a disproportionate brunt of the hazards of lead water contamination. Eliminating lead exposure in our water systems can not only keep communities safe and healthy, but also create family-sustaining jobs and boost local economies across the country, particularly if members of the impacted communities themselves are hired to do this work.
PFAS
In addition to lead, contaminated water exposes communities to harmful chemicals such as arsenic and PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). More than 27 million Americans get their water from systems that violate health standards, and again, low-income communities and communities of color are disproportionately impacted by this contaminated water.
The Opportunity
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.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) invests $55 billion in our water systems—the largest federal investment ever. The law provides a little over $15 billion to fund the replacement of lead service lines and other lead remediation activities. This funding is important for improving public health and addressing inequality. Eliminating lead exposure in our water systems can not only keep communities safe and healthy, but also create family-sustaining jobs and boost local economies across the country, particularly if members of the impacted communities themselves are hired to do this work. The $15 billion for lead service line replacement in the BIL would result in the creation of 200,700 jobs over 10 years.
Additionally, the BIL funds a $10 billion down payment on the cleanup of PFAS and other emerging contaminants. This includes $5 billion in grants for small and disadvantaged communities, $4 billion for utilities to address PFAS in drinking water systems, and $1 billion to help wastewater utilities address PFAS in wastewater discharge.
Climate change also strains our nation’s water infrastructure. The Drinking Water and Clean State Revolving Funds (DWSRF/CWSRF) are the main sources of funding for states not only to update and maintain water infrastructure, but also to ensure that this infrastructure is resilient to climate change. The DWSRF and CWSRF received an infusion of funding in the BIL of $23.5 billion, split equally between the two programs. The bill also makes permanent a Buy America procurement provision in the DWSRF, helping to ensure that parts and materials used in these maintenance projects are made in the United States.
Communities of color and low-income communities are disproportionately affected by unaffordable water rates. Federal water infrastructure funding can address this problem by directing assistance to the communities that need it most—like those facing large gaps between their infrastructure needs and their ability to pay. The BIL authorizes—but does not fund—a new Rural and Low-Income Water Assistance Pilot Program to mitigate water and sewer costs for low-income households.
Key Facts
200,700 jobs The $15 billion for lead service line replacement in the BIL would result in the creation of 200,700 jobs over 10 years. (Source)
12.8 Million As many as 12.8 million homes in the United States get their water through lead pipes and service lines. (Source)
6 Billion Gallons Dilapidated pipes in our nation’s water system leak 6 billion gallons of clean drinking water daily. (Source)