U.S. Infrastructure Investment And Jobs Act: Prioritizing Capital Water Improvement Projects

By David Lieberman, Director, U.S. Government Relations, Bentley Systems

According to the 2021 Infrastructure Report Card, only 21% of all U.S. utilities report being able to fully cover the cost of providing drinking water services, and only 20% of very large utilities and 10% of small utilities think they will be able to provide full cost service in five years.

Decades-old water infrastructure has been under increased regulatory pressure as the nation’s 2.2 million miles of underground pipes are plagued by weekly breakdowns, losing billions of gallons of water each day, and undersized wastewater collection systems are struggling to keep up with community and environmental needs.

Despite the urgent need for federal funding, state and local governments have had to shoulder about two-thirds of public spending for capital investment in water infrastructure since the 1980s. However, this is all about to change with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) signed into law by President Biden in November 2021.