Municipal and utility managers are well aware of the American Recovery and Reinvest-ment Act (the Stimulus Bill), which President Obama signed into law on Feb. 17.
They know it provides funding for critical water and wastewater infrastructure projects, especially “shovel-ready” projects that can help create jobs quickly. But many do not know that these funds in some cases can be used to help operate and maintain the new or rehabilitated infrastructure created by stimulus projects.
Specifically, certain equipment purchases and the manpower to support new or modernized facilities may qualify as “shovel-ready” initiatives under the terms of the act. Cities, utilities and agencies can pursue these funds now.
Major infusion
Speaking in Elkhart, Ind., where the unemployment rate was the nation’s highest, Obama told a gathering that the $787 billion bill would bring up to four million new jobs, “fixing our schools, computerizing medical records to save costs and save lives, repairing our infrastructure, and investing in renewable energy to help us move toward energy independence.” The U.S. EPA has allocated more than $7 billion of stimulus money for water projects, including:
• $4 billion for wastewater projects under the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Funds (SRF) program.
• $2 billion for drinking water projects under the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program.
• $1.38 billion for rural water projects under the USDA Rural Water and Waste Disposal program.
Some 20 percent of the SRF stimulus funds will be targeted toward green, efficient and innovative projects. These funds will be distributed to states, following the existing Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act allotment formulas.
More revolving funds
In addition, on March 12, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Water Quality Investment Act of 2009 (HR 1262), which would authorize substantial funding increases for the SRF. Specifically, over the next five years, this $18.7 billion legislation would authorize:
• $13.8 billion for the Clean Water SRF.
• $2.5 billion to municipalities and states to control combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs).
• $250 million in grants for alter-native water source projects.
• Hundreds of millions for projects to address contaminated sediment in the Great Lakes areas.
• Public notification requirements related to CSO and SSO incidents.
Meanwhile, the EPA is ramping up its efforts to implement the economic stimulus bill and has launched a Web site dedicated to stimulus funding for the drinking water and wastewater SRF programs. When these programs are discussed, often new installations, repair and replacement come to mind, but system managers can attest that maintaining water infrastructure to prevent its slow degradation is at least as important as replacement.
Worth protecting
A typical water system is composed of hundreds or even thousands of valves, miles of pipe and other hardware that require critical and specific maintenance to extend its service life. Due to budget constraints and a shortage of manpower, many communities have delayed this maintenance or skipped it altogether.
Public officials unanimously agree that the nation’s water and wastewater infrastructure is an expensive but invisible asset that deserves to be protected, updated and maintained. It is not a luxury, but a life-nourishing necessity that has not kept pace with the demands placed on it.
Protecting these systems takes on special significance in light of the new Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment issued by the EPA on March 26. This survey says U.S. public water systems need $334.8 billion of capital investment over the next 20 years, up from $276.8 billion measured in 2003.
Critical infrastructure installation and replacement projects are currently being funded, but in addition, farsighted system managers increasingly ask for funding for the equipment needed to maintain, protect and operate the new assets.
Making it last
A typical project now might include both the replacement of inoperative, leaking or decrepit water hardware, and the ancillary hardware and software products to safeguard its future service life. These hardware and software additions often perform double duty, used in the installation stage and in ongoing operation or maintenance.
One example would be a valve exerciser with the necessary torque required to close a defective valve scheduled for replacement, along with the adjacent valves. Sub-sequently this same tool would be used to maintain the new valve and others like it throughout the system. Many more examples involving a wide range of other operations and maintenance equipment could be readily cited. To find out how to request stimulus funding, municipal and utility managers can:
• Contact your state revolving loan fund administrators.
• Talk with outside contractors.
• Contact water and wastewater equipment and software suppliers.
• Visit the EPA’s special Web site at www.epa.gov/water/eparecovery.
• Attend industry trade shows and other events to keep informed.
Mark Leska is marketing coordinator with E.H. Wachs (www.ehwachs.com) a manufacturer of water valve exercising equipment and related products located in Lincolnshire, Ill. He can be reached at MLeska@ehwachs.com.
