Washington, D.C. - This week, the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) sent a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittees to express support for EPA’s essential water infrastructure funding programs in the 2024 fiscal year.
The Biden Administration’s $12 billion FY24 spending plan for EPA includes funding for all water and wastewater infrastructure programs authorized by the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act (DWWIA) of 2021. However, EPA has found that in order to maintain current levels of service, the nation’s drinking water systems require more than $470 billion worth of improvements over the next 20 years. As water systems start working to comply with new regulations related to PFAS, the cost is expected to increase in the coming years.
“The failure to fund these important water infrastructure programs would have real-world impacts across the country, from water rate increases to pay for backlogged capital improvements to the potential for more frequent water service disruptions that erode the public trust in drinking water quality. As the fiscal year 2024 appropriations legislation takes shape, AMWA urges Congress to fully fund EPA’s critical water infrastructure programs,” said AMWA CEO Tom Dobbins.
In its letters the association requested strong funding for EPA’s drinking water infrastructure programs, including:
- $3 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund;
- $100 million for grants to address emerging contaminants like PFAS;
- $80 million for the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program;
- $50 million for the Midsize and Large Drinking Water System Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability Program;
- $100 million for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water grants; and
- $40 million for the Voluntary School and Child Care Program Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program.
AMWA also urged appropriators to provide FY24 funding for EPA’s Rural and Low-Income Water Assistance Pilot Program, so the agency may to begin using the newly authorized program to offset the water and wastewater service costs to low-income households.
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The Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) has been the unified and definitive voice for the nation’s largest publicly owned water systems for over 40 years. AMWA’s membership serves more than 160 million people with safe drinking water.
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