A report issued by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) in February summarizes the major initiatives under consideration on Capitol Hill to help communities finance water infrastructure improvements.
Legislative Options for Financing Water Infrastructure looks at six major policy proposals aimed at water infrastructure financing:
- Increasing funding for the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds;
- Funding the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) pilot program;
- Establishing a federal water trust fund;
- Creating a national infrastructure bank that includes funding eligibility for water projects;
- Lifting the state volume cap on private activity bonds issued to fund water and wastewater infrastructure; and
- Reinstating the federal Build America Bonds program.
The report does not make any recommendations about which option or options lawmakers should pursue to most effectively pay for water projects, and it notes that “there is no consensus supporting a preferred option or policy” on Capitol Hill or among water infrastructure advocates. The report details the legislative histories of the various proposals while summarizing common arguments for and against each option.
While not issued in response to a specific event, the report notes that the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, combined with “long-standing concerns with the costs to repair aging and deteriorated U.S. infrastructure,” have generated increased public attention to water systems’ capital needs in recent months.