Investment projects continue to thrive with the American Rescue Plan (ARPA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) which will increase federal financial allocation in water and sewer systems.
Through ARPA, $350 billion were allocated throughout different places in United States for water and sewer projects. While $15 billion will be dedicated for the removal of lead water mains and service lines through IIJA.
As Water Finance & Management further highlighted:
The Rule also greatly expanded eligible uses in other areas, notably creating a $10 million “standard exemption,” which enables smaller units of government to spend ARPA funding on a much wider array of government services. This means that governments that had been more likely to spend on water and sewer projects can now spend their ARPA funding on roads, bridges, and other capital investments. For communities facing affordability issues, the funding can be used to help address delinquent payment and water access issues.
The most significant increase for water and sewer funding in the IIJA is for existing State Revolving Loan (SRF) funds through the Environmental Protection Agency. The SRF funds for sewer and wastewater treatment projects will see nearly a four-fold increase in federal capitalization over five years. On the drinking water side, the funds will have more than eight times the funding over the previous half-decade. The IIJA also includes additional funding for the existing Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grants program, which will allocate $1 billion among the states over the next five years.
