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Water infrastructure is the backbone of thriving communities and ecosystems. With the historic federal investment into our water systems, water utilities and those who work closely with them can lead the charge to help ensure new dollars don’t lead to business-as-usual outcomes. The US Water Alliance’s Equitable Infrastructure Principles aspire to ensure federal water investments and outcomes are equitable, resilient, and capable of delivering multiple benefits, but can only do so when applied across the infrastructure cycle. In this way, water investments can strongly contribute to everyone's ability to thrive—which is more important now than ever, as we collectively face aging and failing water infrastructure, climate impacts, pollution, emerging contaminants, cyber threats, workforce shortages, and increasing economic inequality. | More >

Conversations on climate action are evolving to include water as part of the solution to our rapidly changing environment. Climate stresses are often felt as water stresses; from more droughts and fires to sea level rise and increasingly severe flooding from hurricanes and storm surges. For decades, the water sector has developed and implemented innovative strategies to better manage these impacts, adapt to our changing climate, and foster utility and community resilience. With the water sector increasingly hit by billion-dollar disasters and serving communities facing compounding climate impacts, many water professionals want to do more.  | More >

Signed into law in 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is the largest federal investment in water infrastructure in 50 years—a vital down payment on investments long needed in water and for communities. This opportunity provides the water sector a moment to re-envision the power and possibilities of infrastructure investments. This is a moment to center water equity, climate action, economic opportunity, and One Water in water infrastructure and capital projects. The following Principles for Equitable Infrastructure Implementation provide some guidance for water and wastewater utilities, community partners, planners, engineers, architects, environmental justice leaders, educators, artists and culture bearers, and residents to work collaboratively to make the most of this moment | More >

With the fate of the $1.75 trillion Build Back Better stalled without the support of Senators Joe Manchin (D-WC) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), some Senate Democrats have been mulling the idea of breaking the Build Back Better into a series of smaller bills. President Biden also acknowledged that passing pieces of the bill might provide a path forward, especially given Senator Manchin’s support of the $555 billion climate provision. However, it may be that the Senate won’t have multiple opportunities to use the budget reconciliation process, which enables Democrats to pass legislation with a simple majority. Also at play is whether or not another scaled-back package, or packages, would receive support from progressives, so it is not yet clear how Congress will proceed. Additionally, this month saw the release of final guidance from the Treasury Department about infrastructure funding in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). | More >