Finally, it appears relief is on the way. The new House version of the economic
recovery bill that passed earlier this month includes $19 billion in funding for
water and environmental projects nationwide. With hopes of a windfall that could make
previously impossible public works projects feasible, everyone from the State
government level on down is priming the pump to make sure they receive their
fair share.
Some potential projects revealed so far include a reverse
osmosis water treatment plant in Somerset County, MD—a state where officials
have already started to make the case that a portion of the federal economic
recovery package must include improvements on local water and sewer
infrastructure. In West Virginia
more than 360 projects are on the list, almost half of which includes various
water and sewer infrastructure improvement plans.
But the feds aren’t the only ones writing checks these
days. In Pennsylvania, Governor
Edward G. Rendell recently announced that the PENNVEST program plans to invest
$94 million in 22 clean water projects.
The funding will come in the form of low-interest loans ($75 million) and
grants ($19 million). In South Carolina, a smaller—but no less crucial—project will replace a 70-year-old water
system with new residential lines, meters, and fire hydrants at the cost of $2
million (with funding provided
by a Community Development Block Grant of $500,000 in Govan, from USDA Rural
Development, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the state Budget and
Control Board).
So, what do you
think? Are these stories anomalies
and pie-in-the-sky fantasies? Or
will the promised economic stimulus package deliver? Will this economic crisis reveal an
unexpected silver lining: the opportunity to finally begin rebuilding our water
infrastructure?