Among the key provisions, the 1996 amendments authorized a Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) program to help public water systems finance improvements needed to comply with federal drinking water regulations and to address the most serious risks to human health. Congress increased the amount states may use for administration purposes in the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN Act; P.L. For FY2016, the President requested $1.18 billion for the DWSRF program, and Congress appropriated $863.2 million ( P.L. For FY2017, President Obama requested $1.020 billion. This needs survey indicates that public water systems need to invest $384.2 billion on infrastructure improvements over 20 years ($19.2 billion annually) to achieve regulatory compliance and ensure the provision of safe tap water. A 2012 study prepared by the American Water Works Association (AWWA) projected that restoring and expanding water systems to keep up with population growth would require a nationwide investment of at least $1 trillion over the next 25 years. Other persistent water infrastructure issues include the gap between funding and estimated needs, the growing cost of complying with SDWA standards (particularly for small communities), the ability of small or disadvantaged communities to afford DWSRF financing, and the broader need for cities to maintain, upgrade, and expand infrastructure unrelated to SDWA compliance. 3080 ) includes in Title V, Subtitle C, the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014 (WIFIA). In WIFIA, Congress authorized a pilot loan guarantee program to test the ability of innovative financing tools to promote increased development of, and private investment in, water infrastructure projects—while reducing costs to the federal government. The five-year pilot program is intended to complement, and not replace, the SRF programs. 114th Congress

The drinking water crisis in Flint, MI, heightened attention to the state of the nation's drinking water infrastructure and the challenges many communities face in addressing their infrastructure needs. In P.L. 114-254 , the Continuing and Security Assistance Appropriations Act of 2017, Congress provided $20.0 million for EPA to begin providing loan guarantees for infrastructure projects under WIFIA. For FY2017, President Obama requested $1.02 billion for the DWSRF program. The program has been funded for FY2017 under continuing resolutions at FY2016 levels, minus across-the-board reductions of less than 0.2%. 114-254 , Congress appropriated the funding authorized in the WIIN Act to assist Flint, MI. Bills have been introduced to increase federal investment in water infrastructure and to promote improved water system asset management and SDWA compliance capacity. In the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 ( P.L. 115-31 , Division G, Title II), Congress appropriated $863.23 million for DWSRF capitalization grants; the act also included another $10.0 million for the WIFIA program (in addition to the $20.0 million provided in P.L. For FY2018, the President has requested $863.0 million for the DWSRF program and $20.0 million for WIFIA. Among other revisions, the bill would (1) add Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements (currently imposed through appropriations acts), (2) make permanent the Buy American iron and steel requirement for projects receiving DWSRF assistance (currently applicable to FY2017 funding), (3) direct states to give funding priority to projects that improve the ability of water systems to protect health and comply with SDWA affordably and to give greater weight to applications that describe measures to improve the management and financial stability of the water system, (4) conditionally require states to use at least 6% of their capitalization grants to provide additional subsidization to disadvantaged communities, (5) incorporate in the statute a governor's authority to transfer as much as 33% of the annual DWSRF or CWSRF capitalization grant to the other fund, (6) increase the amount reserved for insular areas from 0.33% to 1.5%, (7) authorize DWSRF program appropriations at a level of $21.17 billion over five years, (8) authorize EPA to use unobligated funds to make grants to states with water systems disproportionately affected by new regulations to assist those systems, and (9) require EPA to use information from states to develop best practices for DWSRF program administration.
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is the federal authority for regulating contaminants in public water supplies. It includes the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) program, established in 1996 to help public water systems finance infrastructure projects needed to comply with federal drinking water regulations and to meet the SDWA's health objectives. Under this program, states receive annual capitalization grants to provide financial assistance (primarily subsidized loans) to public water systems for drinking water projects and other specified activities. Between FY1997 and FY2015, Congress had appropriated approximately $20 billion, and more than 12,400 projects had received assistance through the program.
The latest Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) survey of capital improvement needs indicates that public water systems need to invest $384.2 billion on infrastructure improvements over 20 years to ensure the provision of safe drinking water. EPA reports that, although all of the projects identified in the survey would promote the public health objectives of the SDWA, just $42.0 billion (10.9%) of reported needs are attributable to SDWA compliance. A study by the American Water Works Association estimates that restoring aging infrastructure and expanding water systems to keep up with population growth would require a nationwide investment of at least $1 trillion through 2035.
Key program issues include (1) the gap between estimated needs and funding, (2) the growing cost of complying with SDWA standards (particularly for small communities), (3) the ability of small or disadvantaged communities to afford DWSRF financing, and (4) the broader need for cities to maintain, upgrade, and expand infrastructure unrelated to SDWA compliance. Several overarching policy questions are under debate, including "What is the appropriate federal role in providing financial assistance for local water infrastructure projects?" and "What other funding mechanisms could supplement or replace a program reliant on annual appropriations?"
Enacted in 2014, the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA; P.L. 113-121, Title V, Subtitle C) authorized a five-year pilot loan guarantee program to promote increased development of, and private investment in, large water infrastructure projects. Congress noted that the pilot program is intended to complement, not replace, the drinking water SRF program and the similar Clean Water Act SRF program for wastewater infrastructure. For FY2017, President Obama requested $20.0 million for EPA to begin providing loan guarantees for water infrastructure projects under WIFIA. Congress provided this amount in P.L. 114-254, the Continuing and Security Assistance Appropriations Act of 2017.
For FY2016, the President requested $1.19 billion for the DWSRF program, and Congress provided $863.2 million. For FY2017, President Obama requested $1.02 billion. The program has been funded under continuing resolutions at roughly FY2016 levels. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (P.L. 115-31), includes $863.23 million for DWSRF capitalization grants for FY2017 and another $20 million for WIFIA. The President's FY2018 request includes $863 million for the DWSRF program and $20 million for the WIFIA program.
In the 114th Congress, the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN Act; P.L. 114-322) made several revisions to the DWSRF program and authorized $100 million in DWSRF appropriations to Michigan to assist the city of Flint in repairing its drinking water infrastructure. In P.L. 114-254, Congress appropriated the funding authorized in the WIIN Act to assist Flint.
The state of the nation's water infrastructure and the challenges many communities face in addressing infrastructure needs continue to receive congressional attention. A number of bills have been introduced in the 115th Congress to revise and increase funding authority for the DWSRF program and to increase investment in water infrastructure through new approaches.