Bill Would Provide Federal Grants for Water Infrastructure

WASHINGTON - Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and two fellow Democrats have introduced a bill that would provide $50 million in federal grants for each of fiscal years 2015-2019 to help states, local communities, and tribal governments upgrade their water and wastewater infrastructure systems.

The Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Sustainability Act (S. 741) directs the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to establish a Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Sustainability program that will allow communities to compete for federal matching funds to help finance projects to overcome aging water infrastructure systems forced to cope with population increases or the changing quality, quantity or reliability of water.

Besides Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, the other co-sponsors are Sens. Ben Cardin from Maryland and Barbara Boxer from California, who is ranking minority member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

"Like many of the roads, bridges, and other public assets on which the country relies, most of our buried water infrastructure was built 50 or more years ago, in the post-World War II era of rapid demographic change and economic growth," the three Senators said in a release.

They pointed out that in some water systems, such as one in Baltimore, many of the pipes were installed in the 1800s and that some pipes are so old they are wooden. There have been increased water main breaks and burst pipes across the country, they said.

"It is estimated that by 2020, the forecasted deficit for sustaining water delivery and wastewater treatment infrastructure, will trigger a $206 billion increase in costs for businesses," the Senators said. "In a worst case scenario, a lack of water infrastructure investment will cause the United States to lose nearly 700,000 jobs by 2020."

The bill specifies a long list of projects that the grant funds must be used for, including those preserving or improving water quality, modifying or relocating existing water infrastructure, investigating groundwater remediation or reducing flood damage risk and vulnerability.

The grants would not be able to exceed 50% of the cost of the program, strategy or project.

The bill directs the EPA administrator, in selecting grantees, to give priority to owners or operators of water systems that are, based on the best available research and data, at the greatest and most immediate risk of facing adverse impacts due to changing water quality, quantity or reliability.

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