On Jan. 10, a coalition of 91 national, state and local water organizations sent a letter to Congress urging water infrastructure funding. The letter asked for a broad range of water infrastructure projects to be considered during the 116th Congress, including drinking water, wastewater, water reuse and storm water infrastructure.
According to the letter, the U.S. EPA estimates that America’s water and wastewater infrastructure requires nearly $750 billion worth of investment during the next 20 years to maintain current levels of service. The letter states that while federal contributions to transportation infrastructure have remained constant, federal contributions to water infrastructure has dropped from 63% to 9% since 1977.
The letter also urges Congress to consider the relationship water infrastructure has to transportation infrastructure and how when roadways are dug up it may be possible to rehabilitate water lines at the same time.
“An infrastructure package represents an excellent opportunity to provide necessary resources to meet long-term economic, public health and environmental goals,” the letter said.
Read the full letter here.
