New Economic Benefits Analysis of Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds Reveals Billions in Return on Federal Investment
Print this Article | Send to Colleague
A new economic benefits
analysis of the impacts of increased funding for the Drinking Water and Clean
Water State Revolving Funds (SRF), released today by the Water Environment Federation (WEF)and the WateReuse
Association, has revealed that a requested $34.7 billion of federal SRF
spending will generate $102.7 billion in total economic input and create more
than 500,000 U.S. jobs.
WEF and
WateReuse conducted the analysis at the request of the Senate Environment and
Public Works Committee for an April 7 hearing that examined the federal role in
water/wastewater infrastructure funding. The preliminary findings were included
in the organizations’ joint testimony and have since been verified and
officially entered into the Committee’s official record. Using the IMPLAN
economic model—which captures the effect of spending as it ripples through the
economy—the organizations examined the estimated impacts (output, labor income,
jobs, and federal tax revenue) of SRF-funded projects in four example states.
The Senate
Environment and Public Works Committee included a Sense of the Senate provision
in S. 2848, The Water Resources Development Act of 2016, which
cited the findings of the WEF/WateReuse analysis, and calls upon Congress to
provide robust funding for the SRF programs. The Committee passed S. 2848 on
April 28 and the bill is now awaiting full Senate consideration.
Based on an
assumption that the proposed $34.7 billion in allocations ($14.7 billion for
drinking water and $20 billion for clean water) would be spent over a ten-year
period (2017-2021), the final report results include:
- $34.7
billion in federal SRF spending results in $7.43 billion in federal tax
revenues;
- When
leveraged with the state SRF program funds, a $34.7 billion federal
investment will result in $32.3 billion in federal tax revenue or $0.93
for every dollar spent;
- On
average, 16.5 jobs are created for each million dollars of SRF funding,
meaning that a $34.7 billion federal investment will result in 506,000 new
jobs; and
- Every
million dollars of SRF spending results in $2.95 million in U.S. economic
input, meaning that a $34.7 billion federal investment will generate
$102.7 billion in total economic input.
"SRFs are
widely acknowledged as one of the most successful infrastructure funding
programs, yet the resources needed to maintain and upgrade our systems remains
out of sync with current investment levels," said WEF Executive Director Eileen
O’Neill. "This report shows that water and wastewater infrastructure is a sound
and wise economic investment that also provides immeasurable returns for public
health, the environment, and our future."
"There’s
little dispute that our nation’s infrastructure is badly in need of repair,"
said WateReuse Association Executive Director Melissa Meeker. "With release of
this report, it’s also abundantly clear that SRFs both contribute to a high
quality of life for taxpayers and foster a robust economy."
Click
here to read the "WEF/WateReuse Analysis of National Economic, Job
Creation, and Tax Revenue Benefits from Increased Funding to the Drinking Water
and Clean Water State Revolving Funds."
Back to Canadian Water and Wastewater Association eBulletin
