Advocacy Project: Issue Overview

Welcome to my advocacy project! In this post you will learn a little bit about the issue of Water Infrastructure and why it might be a good thing to invest in. Hopefully you will feel that this is a good investment for our tax dollars.

What is the issue/problem?
The critical issues facing urban and rural water systems.
-Many drinking water and wastewater systems were built 100 years ago and are nearing the end of their useful life.
-There is a large dollar gap (in billions) between needs and spending at national or local levels.
-Our population increases add to the burden on existing water systems. The Census Bureau projects that the U.S. population will reach 450 million by 2050.

What current legislation has been proposed to address this? (Identify bill # and name):H.R. 537: Sustainable Water Infrastructure Investment Act of 2009 (Introduced in House) To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide that the volume cap for private activity bonds shall not apply to bonds for facilities for the furnishing of water and sewage facilities.

Who is affected by the issue?
Drinking water treatment plants, sewer lines, drinking water distribution lines, and storage facilities ensure protection of public health and the environment.

Who loses, and what do they lose?
It is a substantial amount of money that needs to be raised to facilitate the ability to maintain and build the infrastructure needed to have clean drinking water and adequate waste facilities. So people through their taxes will have to fork over more money for taxes than they already are, that doesn't sit well with many tax payers.

Who gains, and what do they gain?
The whole water industry stands to gain, including plumbers and laborers. Anybody that works on any project concerning water infrastructure for the furnishing of water and sewage facilities. These people all gain a job to work on, and money to earn. the other people that gain are all the people that drink or use clean water. They gain by not getting sick and having a place(ex: beach) to relax at.

What are the consequences of the issue?
The consequences of the issue are for our society to maintain the infrastructure already in place, there has to be a huge amount of money raised in different locations and times around the USA. If the money is not raised, much of our infrastructure will get outdated and breakdown, in which case we will be without proper sewer systems and this will lead to unhealthy drinking water.

For the individuals mostly affected?
The individuals besides everyone that drinks water that it would affect the most would be people that enjoy doing outdoor activities that happen near water. For example anyone that uses the beach, goes fishing, water skiing, swimming, hunting, camping, etc.....

For their families?
Besides the drinking water & showering at home, what about eating fish or waterfowl from polluted water sources, or not having a family day at the beach. Clean water is an integral part of families.

For society?
No matter how you slice it, people have to have clean drinking water, so if we maintain and upgrade what we have now in way of infrastructure, it may save us money in the long run. On the other hand, not doing anything will result in having to find an alternate way to get our drinking water. For example always having to buy bottled water that has filtered not for taste but for safety, just so can can cook some noodles to make spaghetti, instead of using water from your tap.

What kind of cost would that bring?
Recent government studies have estimated costs of $500,000,000,000 to $800,000,000,000 over the next 20 years for maintaining and improving the existing inventory, building new infrastructure, and meeting new water quality standards.

What is the economic impact of the issue?
Ways water infrastructure impact the public:
-Businesses and communities rely on access to water and wastewater services.
-Better financial and management planning can lower costs in the long term.
-Improved communication by utilities and local governments helps the public understand the needs and benefits to the community.

What are the economic benefits of the issue, and who benefits?
This issue would bring water and wastewater projects out from under the state volume cap on private activity bonds, and thereby significantly expand the availability of low-cost financing for water infrastructure projects. Whoever is hired to do any work on the project is benefiting, along with the people within the community are getting cleaner safer more efficient water resources.
Term Volume Cap: The Volume Cap is a federally authorized program which allows the state to allocate tax-exempt private activity bond authority to various projects throughout the state. With this authority, bond issuers are able to finance projects at interest rates below that of the conventional market.

What are the social costs of the issue, and who bears these costs?
The water infrastructure in the US is predominantly made up of very small systems - tens of thousands of locally run treatment plants nationwide that produce and distribute drinking water or collect and clean waste water. Ownership and management of these systems is organized in every possible constellation, from public-public to private-private and therefore reorganization of the water management system as a whole is a very complex issue. On top of that, some challenges make any form of change extra difficult, since there is a general community resistance toward upscaling of systems and a lack of political consensus regarding the question of how to deal with water pricing and lower incomes.

What are the social benefits of the issue, and who benefits?
Protecting the health of our citizens, community water systems are essential to our local economies, enabling industries to achieve growth and productivity that make America strong and prosperous.

What are the barriers to addressing this issue?
One barrier and a big one is that there is a huge price tag affiliated with this issue to do it correctly. People are not real excited about forking over any extra money if they don't see a tangible benefit. Health issues and economic development all compete for the use of the scarce resource. Also fitting into the mix of barriers is that our population is rising and putting more pressure on our wonderful water resources.

How can they be overcome?
The EPA believes that collaboration with a coalition of leaders, with EPA playing a prominent role, can build a road map for the future promotion of sustainable infrastructure through a Four Pillars approach:
1.Better Management of Water and Wastewater Utilities
2.Rates that Reflect the Full Cost Pricing of Services
3.Efficient Water Use
4.Watershed Approaches to Protection.

What are the resources?
EPA Programs Recently Receiving Funding under the Recovery Act as of February 17, 2009
Wall Street experts and the Environmental Protection Agency have projected that this simple change in the tax code could pump as much as $6 billion annually, directly toward addressing our nation’s infrastructure replacement challenge. The cost to the federal government, however, would be very little; recent Treasury Department estimates put the SWIIA price tag at a mere $214 million over the next decade.

What is the history of the issue?
As a nation, we have built this extensive network of infrastructure to provide the public with access to water and sanitation. Much of the drinking water and wastewater infrastructure in the US was built 30 years following World War II, mirroring the increase in population.

What past efforts were made to address it?
The bill, H.R. 6194, titled the Sustainable Water Infrastructure Investment Act (SWIIA), would provide communities with an important financing tool to address our nation’s water infrastructure financing challenge.

What were the results?
I'm not sure how but H.R. 6194 ended up changing into H.R. 537 which is the bill that I have based this Project on.

Allies & Opponents
Sustainable Water Infrastructure Investment Act (SWIIA) is supported by the Sustainable Water Infrastructure Investment Coalition, which is comprised of water industry and other interested organizations working together to promote financially sustainable water infrastructure solutions. Members include: The National Association of Water Companies, The Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association, The American Society of Civil Engineers, The American Council of Engineering Companies, The National Council for Public-Private Partnerships, The Water Partnership Council, The American Public Works Association, United Water, ITT Corporation, The WateReuse Association, GE Water & Process Technologies, the Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association, Mueller Water Products, Inc., and The International Private Water Association.

Who would oppose this issue?
There doesn't seem to be anybody that really opposes the issue. The opposition will probably come from the cost of the issue and possibly later on when some companies are getting to do work on projects and some aren't. Anyone who could make money and doesn't may object to not getting a fair shake in the process.

How do you want policy-makers to vote on this proposed policy?
After going through a lot of information on this issue it is my opinion that the policy makers should pass this bill. I have always been a believer in trying to get a head of the game instead of playing catch-up. It appears to me that we are still ahead of the game albeit not by much and this is a chance to save people money in the long run. This isn't an issue where we might not need water in a couple years in which case the money would be wasted. Water is one of the most important resources we have, so to put money into protecting and saving that resource wouldn't be wasted. Seems like a no-brainer to me.