Report: U.S. clean water utilities advance climate resilience, anticipate $360B costs by 2050
The United States’ most recent climate assessment, released in November 2023, shows how soaring temperatures and weather extremes are affecting every corner of the country with more frequent, heavier rains and worsening drought.
According to the report, each region is grappling with its own distinctive challenges. The Northeast of the country is particularly afflicted by severe precipitation and resulting floods, experiencing some of the most adverse conditions. Meanwhile, in the Western regions, wildfires and droughts are contaminating the air and desiccating fields and water sources. Across the Midwest, floods, droughts, and extreme heat are battering the region, disrupting farmers’ livelihoods and traditions. The Southeast is witness to some of the nation’s worst extreme heat. The report goes on to warn that if warming continues unabated, those disasters will worsen everywhere.
Amidst this scenario, public wastewater and stormwater utilities are facing these same challenges
Amidst this scenario, public wastewater and stormwater utilities are facing these same challenges: increased frequency and intensity of storms, rising sea levels, increased wildfire risk, extreme heat, variations in precipitation patterns, and – for combined drinking water/wastewater utilities in certain parts of the country – increasing threats to reliable drinking water supplies and find themselves racing to implement much-needed climate adaptation and resiliency initiatives.
Last December, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) issued a new report, “Resiliency in the Balance: Funding Challenges for Clean Water Utilities in Addressing Climate Adaptation,” in which it highlighted that across the US, a growing number of successful climate adaptation and resilience initiatives are already underway, and many utilities have quickly adapted to safeguard operations and continue protecting public health and the environment. Nevertheless, despite a recent federal focus on infrastructure development, securing adequate funding in the water sector to support critical climate resiliency programs is not guaranteed.
The report highlights that the water infrastructure funding gap continues to widen annually. The United States is confronted, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers, with an investment deficit of almost $1 trillion (equivalent to $1000 billion) over the next two decades, in stark contrast to the allocated $55 billion over a span of five years for water in the BIL.
The report highlights that the water infrastructure funding gap continues to widen annually
NACWA warns that competition for these funds is intense, spanning various sectors, making access challenging for public water utilities
Moreover, high upfront costs associated with integrating technological advancements and climate-resilient specifications pose a hurdle for implementation. The report has found that clean water utilities, grappling with financial constraints and competing priorities such as aging infrastructure and regulatory compliance, struggle to allocate resources to long-term climate resilience projects.
Nevertheless, “a mixed bag of funding opportunities for climate-friendly water infrastructure projects does exist,” says NACWA, including grants and loan programs from federal agencies such as the EPA and FEMA. However, it warns that competition for these funds is intense, spanning various sectors, making access challenging for public water utilities.
Water utilities also have access to other forms of funding such as Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), utilizing collaborative efforts between public water utilities and private sector entities. As well as securing private financing or issuing bonds to fund infrastructure projects, but NACWA explains that these are “not sufficient to meet the need for climate investment in the clean water sector.”
This lack of funding is also exacerbated by changes in political administrations and budget priorities.
“Currently, there are serious risks to the water sector from massive, proposed spending cuts to State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs for clean water and drinking water. Of great concern to clean water agencies, the SRF programs previously designated for expansion in FY24 to $3 billion apiece through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are now on the chopping block.”
This lack of funding is also exacerbated by changes in political administrations and budget priorities
This means, that in the “absence of sufficient federal funding, the financial burden to further address climate resiliency for clean water utilities will fall to local ratepayers,” stresses the report.
NACWA then highlights two case studies, one in New York City and the other in Los Angeles County. Both of these are innovating and developing regional climate adaptation and resiliency programs in the fields of water reuse, green infrastructure and watershed-based approaches, as well as energy efficiency and clean/renewable energy generation and decarbonization.
The absence of sufficient federal funding, the financial burden to further address climate resiliency for clean water utilities will fall to local ratepayers
NACWA then highlights two case studies, one in New York City and the other in Los Angeles County. Both of these are innovating and developing regional climate adaptation and resiliency programs in the fields of water reuse, green infrastructure and watershed-based approaches, as well as energy efficiency and clean/renewable energy generation and decarbonization.
Nathan Gardner-Andrews, Chief Advocacy & Policy Officer, National Association of Clean Water Agencies said in a statement launched by the Association, “Contrary to some of the common misperceptions, public clean water utilities from New York to California are making huge investments to address climate change and increase the resiliency of their operations and communities. But these efforts are not cheap, and continued progress will be significantly threatened if the federal government does not uphold its commitments to increase funding for clean water infrastructure. Programs such as the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) must be increased, not cut to potentially terminal levels as Congress is currently considering. The future of resiliency efforts for the entire water sector depends on strong federal support.”