U.S. House Committee Urged To Invest in Water and Wastewater Infrastructure

Leaders from the Water Environment Federation (Alexandria, Va.), U.S. Conference of Mayors (Washington, D.C.), Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (Washington, D.C.), American Public Works Association (Kansas City, Mo.), American Water Works Association (Denver), National Association of Clean Water Agencies (Washington, D.C.), and the WateReuse Association (Alexandria, Va.) submitted a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Budget to ensure that investments in water and wastewater infrastructure remain a top priority.

The letter supports maintaining the previous year’s funding levels for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund at $1.449 billion and providing the Barack Obama Administration’s funding request of $1.186 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. It also requests that the committee reject the administration’s proposed limitation on the ability of taxpayers to claim a full tax credit for investments in municipal bonds. The letter urges the committee to provide authorized funding levels for the Water Infrastructure Financing Innovations Act.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), investments in water and wastewater infrastructure provide significant economic benefits to U.S. communities. DOC estimates that each job created in the local water and wastewater industry creates 3.68 jobs in the national economy and each public dollar spent yields $2.62 in economic output in other industries.