Inside AGC Liquid Assets

November/December 2008

EPA’s Benjamin Grumbles on Water Infrastructure Needs

Water-resources expert praises new "Liquid Assets" documentary

Why did you think it was important to be a part of Liquid Assets: The Story of Our Water Infrastructure? What impact do you hope to see from the release and broadcast of Liquid Assets?

Benjamin H. Grumbles Assistant Administrator for Water U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Benjamin H. Grumbles was confirmed by the Senate on Nov. 20, 2004, as assistant administrator for water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Before joining the EPA, he served in various U.S. House of Representatives staff positions, including counsel to the Committee on Science and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Grumbles’ degrees include a B.A., Wake Forest University; J.D., Emory University; and LL.M. in environmental law from George Washington University Law School. He was born and raised in Louisville, Ky. He lives in Arlington, Va., with his wife Karen and their two water-loving kids.

One of the EPA’s top priorities is to ensure Americans have safe, secure and sustainable water. I am encouraged that this documentary will help promote a new conversation among a broad segment of the public across the nation about our water infrastructure. The program tells our story. It does an excellent job of framing the complex issues that our country faces as we shift to more sustainable water infrastructure approaches.

The Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water acts are federal laws that require states and localities to maintain and upgrade their systems where applicable to meet federally enforceable water quality standards. Given that these upgrades are costly, and in some communities cost prohibitive, what is the appropriate federal role in assisting states and localities financially in meeting their water infrastructure needs?

Our nation’s current and future infrastructure needs are significant. Water infrastructure is the lifeblood of a community. We must help people understand the value of water to their communities and help them realize that investments in water infrastructure are investments in their communities.

With the aging of the nation’s infrastructure and the growing investment need, our cities face a significant challenge to sustain and advance the achievements we have made in protecting public health and the environment.

Though the relative contributions of the federal, state, and local governments have fluctuated over the decades, the total stays nearly the same. While there is certainly a significant federal role, as there always has been and will continue to be far into the future, federal funds alone cannot meet the needs, so we must look for significant new sources of capital.

Part of EPA’s ongoing efforts for identifying new solutions to our infrastructure challenges is our Sustainable Infrastructure Initiative—our Four Pillars strategy of better management, full-cost pricing, water efficiency, and watershed-based approaches. (More information is available at www.epa.gov/waterinfrastructure.)

Another innovative solution is our Water Enterprise Bond Initiative. Water enterprise bonds are qualified private activity bonds used for public-purpose wastewater and drinking-water facilities. We estimate this initiative would increase capital investment in the nation’s water infrastructure up to $5 billion per year over time through public-private partnerships.

What new requirements are on the horizon that will force some states and localities into making investments?

It is increasingly clear that climate change impacts water resources, and the programs designed to protect water resources will need to adapt. It means more than rising sea levels and melting glaciers. It means warming water temperatures and changes in the amounts and location of rainfall and snowfall.

To assist in responding to the potential effects of climate change, a new EPA strategy focuses on 40 specific actions for the national water program to take to respond to climate change. EPA’s "National Water Program Strategy: Response to Climate Change" describes steps we will take to adapt clean water, drinking water and ocean protection programs. (More information is available at www.epa.gov/ow/climatechange.)

The good news is EPA water programs are already taking action related to climate change, including the WaterSense water-efficiency program, green infrastructure for wet-weather management, climate-ready estuaries and the proposed national rule for injection of carbon dioxide underground.

EPA’s Clean Water and Drinking Water Infrastructure Gap Analysis found a $535-billion gap between current spending and projected needs for water and wastewater infrastructure (combined) over 20 years. How does our annual spending on water infrastructure at the federal, state and local levels compare to the demands as outlined in the EPA gap analysis?

Many organizations have developed estimates of needs and the gap that are consistent with or greater than EPA’s estimates. Regardless of which estimate we accept, we all agree that it is important to develop a strategy to bridge the gap. The funding gap is not inevitable; it will only occur if we ignore the challenges posed by an aging infrastructure network.

To preserve the gains we have made since the passages of the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act over 30 years ago, we must renew our pipes and plants at a much higher rate and examine ways to improve efficiencies in the water industry. The needs are great and communities have to address challenges related to aging infrastructure and growing and shifting populations. The problem is manageable if utilities undertake the work that needs to be done to make infrastructure sustainable and if the public understands the investments that will be needed to ensure that they have access to safe drinking water.

What are your thoughts on using public-private partnerships to build or improve water infrastructure?

One approach to consider is the use of public-private partnerships that utilize private-sector resources to finance water and wastewater treatment needs; for example, our Water Enterprise Bond Initiative. The private sector has historically been involved in providing water-treatment-related services to local governments. Whether providing basic treatment supplies, maintaining a portion of the collection or treatment system under a contract, or providing contract operation and maintenance for all of a municipality’s facilities, the private sector has served an important role in the effort to control water pollution and in water service.

One example of an EPA public-private partnership is our WaterSense Program. In the two years since its launch, WaterSense has become a national symbol for water efficiency among utilities, plumbing manufacturers and consumers. WaterSense provides families and businesses with simple voluntary ways to save money and water, while ensuring certified products perform at least 20% more efficiently than their counterparts. The WaterSense label can now be found on more than 150 models of water-efficient faucets and accessories and nearly 200 varieties of high-efficiency toilets. More than 300 utilities and 100 manufacturers and retailers are helping promote WaterSense products.

The Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act are some of the most effective environmental programs in U.S. history. Would you agree?

Absolutely! Thirty-five years ago some of the nation’s rivers were open sewers posing health risks, and many water bodies were so polluted that swimming, fishing and recreation were impossible. Today, our nation’s waters are cleaner and safer than before, thanks largely to the landmark legislation contained in the CWA and SDWA.

Can you explain the importance of watershed management in the context of a comprehensive approach to ensuring water quality?

The basic goal of watershed management is to break down the stovepipes that exist at the local level so that all reasonable options for water and wastewater infrastructure are examined and prioritized, and the best decisions that meet community needs and values are made. Using a watershed approach, multiple stakeholders integrate regional and locally led activities with local, state, tribal and federal environmental management programs.

Contractors constantly see the state of our water infrastructure as they replace and rehabilitate aging or failing systems, but the general public is rarely exposed. How can we educate the public about the crucial need for investment in our water infrastructure for our health, safety and economic well-being?

We need to collaborate on efforts to educate the public at national, regional and local levels. Public-works professionals, state and local officials, industry associations, utilities and others must help engage in an open dialogue about water resources with the public. I was proud to participate in the documentary "Liquid Assets: The Story of Our Water Infrastructure," produced by PennState Public Broadcasting. The program does an excellent job of framing complex issues our country faces as we shift to more sustainable water infrastructure approaches.

What is the most prominent hurdle we face in meeting our water infrastructure needs?

Changing the ways our utilities and the utility sector do business and changing the way the public views and values infrastructure. Utilities are rapidly adopting sustainable practices essential to success.

These are things like implementing an asset-management strategy, achieving greater energy efficiencies, selecting and installing more effective technologies and collaborating with other utilities in the watershed.

Utilities need to use things like asset management as a springboard to setting pricing structures that recover the full long-term cost of providing the excellent services we enjoy. In the U.S., we pay less for water than in any other developed country, and we also use more water per capita.

We take cheap water for granted. We need to bring into the public consciousness the fact that clean water comes at a price and that it is not only worth that price, but simply essential. If we value our water resources and infrastructure, we will learn to conserve this limited resource.