Clean Water Advocacy - News Releases - September 4, 2003
For Immediate Release: September 4, 2003
Contact: Adam Krantz, 202/833-4651, AMSA
On Thursday, September 4, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released their 2003 Progress Report for America’s Infrastructure detailing the progress of twelve key infrastructure areas, including wastewater treatment infrastructure. Wastewater infrastructure received a grade of “D” or “poor”, and according to the Report an estimated $1.6 trillion investment is needed over the next five years to secure and protect the public’s health and safety, with wastewater comprising $12 billion annually of the infrastructure shortfall.
The Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies (AMSA) believes a clean water trust fund is the appropriate solution to overcome the wastewater infrastructure funding shortfall. AMSA believes that a sound wastewater infrastructure is vital to the nation's economy and overall quality of life and the costs associated with meeting current and future infrastructure needs is a major concern facing the country. The Association believes the findings in the Report bolster the urgent need for legislation that provides a long-term, sustainable solution to the nation’s wastewater infrastructure funding shortfall.
Ken Kirk, Executive Director of AMSA, states that “ASCE’s report demonstrates that the nation is facing a looming crisis regarding wastewater infrastructure and without a serious, long-term funding commitment from the federal government the shortfall will continue to grow in the coming years and we will have missed our opportunity to secure the water quality gains for future generations.”
ASCE’s Report was conducted by a 20-member advisory council that evaluated existing data to provide a forecast for each infrastructure category based on their condition and performance as reported by federal sources; capacity of infrastructure versus need; and current and pending investment of state, local and federal funding for infrastructure versus need. The Report bolsters the recent findings of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Government Accounting Office and the Congressional Budget Office all if which estimated a clean and safe water funding gap in the hundreds of billions of dollars.
AMSA believes the Report will encourage strong bipartisan support in Congress on the issue of meaningful water and wastewater infrastructure funding legislation and will help spur congressional leaders to develop and implement a long-term solution to the nation’s clean water infrastructure shortfall.
For more information on the 2003 Progress Report please visit the ASCE website at www.asce.org/reportcard. To learn more about AMSA, visit www.amsa-cleanwater.org.
AMSA is a national trade association representing hundreds of the nation's publicly owned wastewater treatment utilities. AMSA members serve the majority of the sewered population in the United States and collectively treat and reclaim over 18 billion gallons of wastewater every day. AMSA members are environmental practitioners dedicated to protecting and improving the nation's waters and public health.
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