Infrastructure Funding & Implementation
The way we fund our water infrastructure is insufficient to meet current needs. Federal investment in water has declined over the last 50 years—shrinking from 63% of capital spending in 1977 to 9% in 2017. Yet our nation’s century-old water infrastructure is in dire need of investment, and utilities often don’t have the capacity to deliver the necessary upgrades alone.
A Historic Investment in Water
The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law represents a much-needed federal down payment in financing these upgrades. Through this funding and existing channels, the water sector has a unique opportunity to incorporate water equity, climate action, economic opportunity, and One Water into infrastructure planning and execution—centering the needs of the communities that have been underserved and underinvested in for far too long.
