In areas across the U.S., trillions of gallons of drinking water are lost every year, particularly from water systems with aging infrastructure, which increases costs to both utilities and consumers, according to a recent AP News report. New federal funding, however, offers water and wastewater utilities an opportunity to replace and strengthen their infrastructure assets.
According to AP’s report, the problem of water loss is especially acute in older industrial and rural areas in the eastern half of the country that experienced significant population and industrial decline that leaves behind poorer residents, vacant neighborhoods, and too-large water systems. In particular, “the Detroit enclave of Highland Park, where the population halved in the past 20 years and is 83% smaller than its 1930s heyday, an estimated 70% of the water is lost from pipes up to 120 years old,” said Sunil Sinha, a water researcher at Virginia Tech. “Several Chicago suburbs likely are losing more than 40% of water. And some Georgia systems are losing more than 80% of their treated drinking water.” Indeed, aging infrastructure can lead to deteriorating sewer systems, frequent water main breaks, and old pipes that can threaten drinking water quality, among other risks.
In addition, cold weather adds existing pressure on aging systems. A cold snap in January, for instance, caused water line breaks in dozens of communities where aging infrastructure could no longer endure freezing temperatures, including Memphis, Tennessee and an Arkansas town that had no water for two weeks. Adding to the challenge of aging infrastructure is escalating costs every year maintenance and replacement is deferred.
Despite the challenges of aging infrastructure, the federal government has several existing and new funding opportunities that water and wastewater utilities can take advantage of to replace their old assets. A recently created federal funding opportunity is the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. It provides significant funding for improving the nation’s drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure. The law delivers $50 billion to the EPA, which is mostly distributed to the State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs. Additionally, an article this week in WaterWorld magazine highlights some federal funding opportunities and projects that are already using these funds. For example, the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority will soon begin implementing a Water Reliability Plan. The $470 million effort will include several water improvement projects, such as the rehabilitation and replacement of approximately 8,500 feet of piping, improving existing pump stations, and constructing a large diameter in-ground piping system.
For more information on federal funding opportunities utilities are encouraged to visit the EPA’s Water Infrastructure and Resiliency Finance Center website. Utilities can also access its fact sheets on “Effective Funding Frameworks for Water Infrastructure,” “Water Infrastructure Investments,” and “Drinking Water Grants.” Read more at the AP, at the National League of Cities (NLC), or at the Congressional Research Service.
