Water Environment Federation Joins 90 Organizations Urging Congress To Fund Water Infrastructure

The Water Environment Federation and 90 other organizations have sent a letter to Congress urging the funding of water infrastructure.

The coalition of national, state, and local organizations asked Congress to include funding and financing for drinking water, wastewater, water reuse, and stormwater infrastructure in any infrastructure package considered during the 116th Congress.

“An infrastructure package represents an excellent opportunity to provide necessary resources to meet long-term economic, public health, and environmental goals,” the letter reads.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that America’s water and wastewater infrastructure requires nearly $750B worth of investment over the next 20 years just to maintain current levels of service, and independent estimates place this figure over $1T. Aging infrastructure replacement needs account for much of the investment gap. While federal contributions to transportation infrastructure have stayed constant at approximately half of total capital spending, federal investment in water infrastructure has declined from 63 percent to 9 percent since 1977.

In a recent survey of American’s opinions on the value of investing in our water resources, 78 percent of respondents said it’s “extremely or very important” that the President and Congress develop a plan to rebuild America’s water infrastructure. The same survey found that 88 percent of respondents agreed that increased federal investment was needed to rebuild water infrastructure.

Water Sector Letter to Congress

About WEF
The Water Environment Federation (WEF) is a not-for-profit technical and educational organization of 35,000 individual members and 75 affiliated Member Associations representing water quality professionals around the world. Since 1928, WEF and its members have protected public health and the environment. As a global water sector leader, our mission is to connect water professionals; enrich the expertise of water professionals; increase the awareness of the impact and value of water; and provide a platform for water sector innovation. For more information, visit www.wef.org.