Water Infrastructure
Water Infrastructure in the Great Lakes Region
The Problem
The Great Lakes region faces a water infrastructure crisis. Lead pipes poison drinking water. Emerging contaminants like toxic PFAS threaten human and environmental health. Water main breaks curtail service and can result in sink holes in streets. Sewage overflows close beaches. And the cost to fix these problems are causing skyrocketing water bills that many families struggle to afford. The problem is massive: According to the EPA, the Great Lakes states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin need more than $225 billion to improve, upgrade, and repair drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems. This work is very expensive, stretching the budgets of local communities that pass down costs to residents who, in many cases, are least able to afford higher water bills.
Further, federal water infrastructure investments have decreased significantly over the last 50 years—exacerbating the problem and putting additional strain on communities.
Additionally, climate change is leading to more intense storms and rainfall that are overwhelming aging infrastructure and exacerbating many threats to our Great Lakes and communities, including polluted runoff that causes toxic algal blooms, sewage overflows that close beaches, and flooding that jeopardizes homes, businesses, and communities.
With so many communities living with unsafe water, we need to do more to protect our waters and improve drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems.
Investing in water infrastructure protects public and ecosystem health, while helping communities prepare for and adapt to the impacts of climate change, reducing maintenance and operational costs of our water systems, and creating good-paying local jobs.
Water rates are becoming increasingly unaffordable for families. From 2012 to 2021, water rates increased by 43 percent across the country.
The Solutions
Years of underinvestment in our communities’ water infrastructure is threatening the health of our communities and our Great Lakes. While federal investments are producing results, serious threats remain. We need to put forward investments commensurate with the challenge at hand—dramatically accelerating progress to restore the Great Lakes and protect the drinking water and the health of millions of people.
Passage of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in the fall of 2021 has led to billions of dollars of new federal funding to help communities upgrade their water infrastructure. Now, communities and utilities are ready to get to work. To help communities and to realize the full potential of this historic legislation, Congress must fully fund the investments authorized in the bill in fiscal year 2025 and support relevant agencies with the equitable implementation of these funds. The Healing Our Waters– Great Lakes Coalition urges Congress fund key EPA water infrastructure programs at no less than:
Clean Water State Revolving Fund: $4.9 billion
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund: $4.4 billion
Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grants: $280 million
Lead programs including Reducing Lead in Drinking Water and Lead Mapping Pilot programs at $200 million and $10 million, respectively.
Small and Disadvantaged Communities Grants: $120 million
Individual Household Decentralized Wastewater Treatment System Grants: $50 million
Reject any rescissions of infrastructure investments passed under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (P.L. 117-58).
Federal investments in water infrastructure must also seek to address the impacts of climate change, prioritizing resilience and promoting the use of natural infrastructure, whereby natural landscape features such as wetlands, rain gardens, parks, and bioswales absorb storm water and prevent infrastructure from being overwhelmed. These solutions help mitigate flooding and pollution from runoff, and provide new habitat and green space while reducing maintenance costs and developing good-paying local jobs.
Moreover, federal investments must tackle the biggest problems in communities that have been hit hardest by pollution and harm, from urban communities dealing with toxic lead contamination to rural communities dealing with failing home sewage treatment systems. Federal and state agencies must invest in staffing to ensure equitable implementation of investments, as well as building the capacity to improve community engagement and provide technical assistance for the most under resourced communities to access these assistance programs. Federal and state programs must also maximize funding provided as grants or forgivable loans to keep communities from falling further into debt and then passing on rising costs to residents.
Learn More about Water Infrastructure in the Great Lakes Region
Lead
Permanent cognitive damage, behavioral problems, higher school suspension rates, health issues, and increased incarceration for violent crimes. This combination of issues is affecting communities across the country. The culprit? Lead exposure.
Lead contamination impacts communities in rural and urban areas, alike, across the Great Lakes region.
Toxic lead poisoning can result from a variety of causes, from lead dust in paint and soil to lead pipes that supply drinking water into people’s homes.
It is estimated that more than 10 million people in in rural and urban communities in the United States are at risk for lead poisoning due to lead service lines.
The plight of residents in Flint, Mich., and more recently in Benton Harbor, Mich., who have not been able to safely drink their water due to lead poisoning, have shed a light on the national problem of lead-tainted pipes in millions of homes across the nation—many of them in older Midwestern cities like Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, Milwaukee and Chicago. Lead poisoning afflicts rural communities as well.
Every year, the federal government provides millions of dollars to local communities throughout the United States to update, repair, and fix their drinking water and wastewater infrastructure through the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds. The Drinking Water State Revolving Funds rules require that each state develop an Intended Use Plan to map out how the funding will be disbursed and used over the course of the year.
Replacing lead service lines is an important public health issue. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the presence of lead in drinking water can cause severe negative health effects for adults, children, and fetuses. Adults who consume lead in drinking water may experience symptoms like high blood pressure, a decline in cardiovascular health, increased risk of hypertension, decreased kidney function, and reproductive issues. In pregnant people, lead exposure can result in premature birth and small, undernourished babies. Children may experience anemia, hearing problems, behavioral and learning delays, and, in severe cases, seizures, coma, and death.
The Coalition advocates for Congress to fully fund lead programs, including Reducing Lead in Drinking Water and Lead Mapping Pilot programs at $200 million and $10 million, respectively.
State Revolving Funds
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF)
The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) is a collaboration between the federal government and states to promote safe drinking water. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gives funding grants to states based on their drinking water infrastructure needs. Each state contributes an additional 20%, and this fund grows with state funding and loan repayments, making it a "revolving" program.
States can allocate a portion of their DWSRF funds to specific programs ensuring water safety. Building on an initial $21.0 billion federal investment, state DWSRFs have provided over $41.1 billion to water systems through 2019.
The Coalition advocates for Congress to fully fund the Clean Water State Revolving Fund at no less than $4.4 billion.
Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF)
The Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) is a joint effort between the federal government and states, offering communities affordable funding for water projects. The EPA gives grants to states for the CWSRF loan programs, which states boost with a required 20% match. This is further increased by state funding and loan repayments, making the program "revolving."
States have flexibility in how they offer assistance under CWSRF, including loans, refinancing, or buying local debt. They can set loan terms, like interest rates ranging from 0% to market rates and repayment times up to 30 years. States can direct funds according to their unique needs. With an initial federal investment of $49.6 billion, state CWSRFs have provided $163 billion to communities through 2022.
The Coalition advocates for Congress to fully fund the Clean Water State Revolving Fund at no less than $4.9 billion.