While President Obama last week ordered a freeze for all discretionary spending from 2011 through 2013, the White House budget proposal for fiscal year 2011 maintains significant increases for the EPA Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs for the next three years, according to a report from the National Utility Contractors Asociation.

The Clean Water SRF would receive $2 billion each year, while the Drinking Water SRF would receive $1.3 billion. The EPA indicates that these funding levels will enable states to initiate 800 wastewater infrastructure projects and 500 drinking water infrastructure projects around the country in 2011.

“While these investment levels do not come close to what is needed to meet the nation's water and wastewater infrastructure needs, they are a significant improvement to investment levels prior to 2009,” NUCA states.

“NUCA and the Clean Water Council will continue to push Congress daily to reauthorize the SRF programs, as well as advocate for other water infrastructure initiatives, such as legislation that would lift the state volume cap on private activity bonds, establish a national infrastructure bank, and create a water infrastructure trust fund.”