A recent survey by the US Environmental Protection Agency will decide on the level of investment and grants to be made available for drinking water needs.
The Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment determines the distribution formula for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), and will affect budgets from 2010 to 2013. The Safe Drinking Water Act established the DWSRF to help states provide grants to drinking water systems to finance infrastructure improvements. Since the DWSRF program began in 1997, states have provided more than $15 billion in funding to utilities for infrastructure projects.
The survey, which is done every four years, reflects data collected in 2007 from states. According to the survey results, the nation’s water utilities will need to invest an estimated $334.8 billion over the next 20 years to deal with aging infrastructure, such as repairs and replacement of transmission and distribution pipes, storage and treatment equipment, and projects that are necessary to deliver safe supplies of drinking water.
