Ask Congress to Pass the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (HR 3684)
Please reach out to your Members of Congress to urge strong support for increased funding for water infrastructure in the forthcoming major infrastructure legislative package. As a water professional, please write your Members of Congress to strongly urge the House of Representatives to pass the Senate-passed Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (H.R. 3684), which will provide robust funding for drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure.
Water infrastructure impacts all Americans, as it protects public health and the environment and drives the economy. In fact, closing the investment gap in water infrastructure would generate more than $220 billion in annual economic activity and generate 1.3 million jobs over 10 years.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that America’s water and wastewater infrastructure requires nearly $750 billion worth of investment over the next 20 years just to maintain current levels of service, and independent estimates place this figure over $1 trillion. Aging infrastructure replacement needs and required system upgrades to meet federal regulatory compliance obligations account for much of the investment gap. While federal contributions to transportation infrastructure have stayed constant at approximately half of total capital spending, federal investment in water infrastructure has declined from 63 percent in 1977 to 5 percent today.
In a 2019 Value of Water Campaign survey of Americans' opinions on the value of investing in water resources, 78 percent of respondents said it’s “extremely or very important” that the Administration and Congress develop a plan to rebuild America’s water infrastructure. The same survey found that 88 percent of respondents agreed that increased federal investment was needed to rebuild water infrastructure.
In the expected infrastructure package, Congress should maintain essential funding for core water infrastructure and support an expanded role of federal agencies in ensuring funding for clean and reliable water. The importance of safe and reliable drinking water and wastewater service during the Covid-19 crisis further highlights how critical it is for there to be robust funding to help communities address the challenges of aging water infrastructure.
In conclusion, cost-effective infrastructure repair and replacement can have an enormous impact on the quality of life for communities across the U.S., particularly as our nation strives to recover from the public health and economic impacts of the Covid-19 crisis.
Congress needs to include robust funding for drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure in the forthcoming water infrastructure package.
Please ask your Members of Congress to ensure that ALL communities have safe and reliable water infrastructure.
Ask Congress to Pass the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (HR 3684)
Please reach out to your Members of Congress to urge strong support for increased funding for water infrastructure in the forthcoming major infrastructure legislative package. As a water professional, please write your Members of Congress to strongly urge the House of Representatives to pass the Senate-passed Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (H.R. 3684), which will provide robust funding for drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure.
Water infrastructure impacts all Americans, as it protects public health and the environment and drives the economy. In fact, closing the investment gap in water infrastructure would generate more than $220 billion in annual economic activity and generate 1.3 million jobs over 10 years.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that America’s water and wastewater infrastructure requires nearly $750 billion worth of investment over the next 20 years just to maintain current levels of service, and independent estimates place this figure over $1 trillion. Aging infrastructure replacement needs and required system upgrades to meet federal regulatory compliance obligations account for much of the investment gap. While federal contributions to transportation infrastructure have stayed constant at approximately half of total capital spending, federal investment in water infrastructure has declined from 63 percent in 1977 to 5 percent today.
In a 2019 Value of Water Campaign survey of Americans' opinions on the value of investing in water resources, 78 percent of respondents said it’s “extremely or very important” that the Administration and Congress develop a plan to rebuild America’s water infrastructure. The same survey found that 88 percent of respondents agreed that increased federal investment was needed to rebuild water infrastructure.
In the expected infrastructure package, Congress should maintain essential funding for core water infrastructure and support an expanded role of federal agencies in ensuring funding for clean and reliable water. The importance of safe and reliable drinking water and wastewater service during the Covid-19 crisis further highlights how critical it is for there to be robust funding to help communities address the challenges of aging water infrastructure.
In conclusion, cost-effective infrastructure repair and replacement can have an enormous impact on the quality of life for communities across the U.S., particularly as our nation strives to recover from the public health and economic impacts of the Covid-19 crisis.
Congress needs to include robust funding for drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure in the forthcoming water infrastructure package.
Please ask your Members of Congress to ensure that ALL communities have safe and reliable water infrastructure.