Funding the Future of Safe Drinking Water
The success or failure of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) over the next 50 years will hinge on one question: how will we pay for safe drinking water? Reaching the SDWA’s public-health goals requires secure financing that matches the reali-ties of modern water utilities. In a recent evaluation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated a 20-year national capital-improvement need of $625B.1 Policymakers must consider alternative revenue models, capital financing tools, and more robust fiscal health frameworks.
Federal grant programs no longer carry the load they once did. In 1977, federal funds covered roughly 63% of water-utility capital improvements. By 2017, that share had fallen to 9%.2 Even with recent boosts from the Infrastructure In-vestment and Jobs Act (more than $50B for water), demand vastly outstrips supply. For example, Texas’ 2023 Drinking Water State Revolving Fund had a program capacity of $342M against requests exceeding $2.4B.
The Takeaway is a publication of the Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics, and Public Policy at the Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University.
