PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
March 31, 1999Contact: John Millett, AMSA, 1(202)833-4652
Barry Eisenberg, WEF, 1(703)684-2400Unless We Act Now . . .
WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE COSTS WILL SWAMP
AMERICA'S COMMUNITIES(Washington, D.C.) -- The “Cost of Clean” is rising sharply. To focus national attention on skyrocketing wastewater infrastructure costs, two leading national water quality organizations - the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies (AMSA) and the Water Environment Federation (WEF) - will release startling findings today on massive funding gaps facing local governments across the country. The Cost of Clean presents disturbing financial trends that could jeopardize America's future water quality and calls for a national dialogue of federal, state and local leaders to find a way to fill the gap.
Currently, America's communities shoulder 90 percent of wastewater infrastructure costs nationwide. As the costs grow and cities strive to ensure ever higher water quality standards, the federal share of the cost of clean remains level. This situation is pushing many local budgets beyond the breaking point, threatening economic growth and further environmental progress. With needs projected to be $330 billion over the next 20 years, AMSA and WEF are sounding the alarm with today's release of The Cost of Clean.
“Wastewater treatment plants and collection systems are the most important, and least visible, part of our urban infrastructure,” says WEF President Rhonda Harris, founder of Professional Operations, Inc. (PRO-OPS), an operations consulting firm for environmental facilities based in Plano, Texas. “I believe, and the Water Environment Federation believes, that funding for this vital infrastructure is crucial to public health, environmental protection, economic well being, and to our nation's continued world leadership in this sector.”
“Communities in every state across the country are facing staggeringly expensive wastewater needs,” says AMSA President Michele Plá, Planning Manager for San Francisco's Clean Water Program. “On top of all the other services they provide, local governments must fund a costly combination of water infrastructure. They must pay to operate, maintain, expand or replace their aging wastewater treatment plants. And, at the same time, many must also correct discharges that occur during periods of extreme rainfall that overwhelm the capacity of wastewater collection systems, many of which were built generations ago. Millions must be spent in thousands of communities on both wastewater treatment plants and on ‘wet weather’ discharges. Americans prize clean water as an investment in the future. AMSA feels that federal spending should reflect the high value Americans place on quality infrastructure and a healthy environment.”
Following a presentation of the troubling national trends, a panel of local government officials will discuss the dilemmas posed by the clean water funding crunch. The speakers include: Bruce Tobey, Mayor, City of Gloucester, Mass., representing National League of Cities; C. Vernon Gray, Howard County, Md. Council Chair and President-Elect, National Association of Counties; and James Lebenthal, Lebenthal & Co., Inc., and Vice Chair, Rebuild America Coalition.
The Water Environment Federation is a not-for-profit technical and educational organization with the goal of preserving and enhancing the global water environment. Federation members number more than 40,000 water quality professionals and specialists from around the world, including engineers, scientists, government officials, utility and industrial managers and operators, academics, educators and students, equipment manufacturers and distributors, and other environmental specialists.
The Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies represents 218 of the nation's publicly owned wastewater treatment agencies. Its members serve the majority of the sewered population in the United States and collectively treat and reclaim over 18 billion gallons of wastewater each day. AMSA's members are true environmental practitioners dedicated to protecting and improving the quality of the nation's waters.
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