On November 5, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3684: The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which allocates $55 billion to drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure funding to expand access to clean drinking water for households, businesses, schools, and childcare centers across the country. Some of the Act’s key water-related provisions are:
- $15 billion in loans and grants through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) for lead service line replacement
- $10 billion in loans and grants through the Drinking Water SRF to address PFAS in drinking water
- $1 billion in grants through the Clean Water SRF to address emerging contaminants
- $1 billion in funding for Western water recycling programs and approximately $48 million for national water reuse programs
Industry Response
IAPMO “enthusiastically applauds the U.S. House of Representatives for passing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, bipartisan legislation that makes vital investments in the nation’s infrastructure, including funding for water and sanitation, roads and bridges, rail, transit, ports, airports, electric grid, broadband, and other priorities.”
The American Water Works Association (AWWA) said: “As the largest association of water professionals in the world, AWWA is grateful to U.S. Congress and President Biden for making water infrastructure a priority in enacting the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. By reauthorizing the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act and doubling funding for the drinking water State Revolving Fund, the federal government is helping states and local water providers to spur on critical water projects. In addition, the $15 billion designated for lead service line replacement is a welcome down payment on what could be a $60 billion challenge.”
“With the final passage by Congress of this infrastructure package, the water sector will get the largest boost in federal funding for local water infrastructure it has received in decades,” said Water Environment Federation (WEF) President Jamie Eichenberger. “This massive funding increase is the result of years of hard work by WEF and our members to make Congress understand the desperate need for water infrastructure investments in communities nationwide.”
Mami Hara, U.S. Water Alliance CEO, said: “We are thrilled to see this historic investment in our nation’s water infrastructure, and we look forward to deploying our network to achieve the best implementation for these funds. Investing in infrastructure—specifically water—has vast support from the overwhelming majority of Americans. Water is too essential to wait.”
According to the Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE), “AWE has been the lead advocate for water-efficiency funding within the federal infrastructure bill, and we are pleased that it includes $400 million in new funding over five years for western states’ water efficiency through the Bureau of Reclamation’s Water Smart grant program. Thanks to AWE members that signed letters of support, contacted congressional staff, and provided examples of water conservation programs in need of funding. This is a major victory for water efficiency!”
