Adapt this briefing matrix for use with legislators, editorial boards or other audiences.
Key Messages
Buried No
Longer™:
Confronting
America’s Water
Infrastructure
Challenge
Tell Your Local Story/
Advocate for WIFIA
1. In February 2012, the
American Water Works
Association released the
most extensive study ever
to measure the drinking
water infrastructure
reinvestment need.
AWWA is a 503c nonprofit and the largest
association of water professionals in the world, with
more than 50,000 members.
The Buried No Longer analysis shows that waves of
reinvestment will be necessary to maintain the more
than 53,000 community water systems in the United
States.
The needs are driven by a combination of the
original patterns of pipe investment, the pipe
materials used, and local operating environments.
The report examines the reinvestment demands
implied by these factors, along with population
trends, in order to estimate needs for pipe
replacement and concurrent investment demands to
accommodate population growth.
Buried No Longer™ Briefing Matrix
Copyright© 2013 American Water Works Association
2. More than $1 trillion
nationwide will be
required over the next 25
years to replace aging
water mains and address
projected growth.
This is a new challenge for our country. We have
not faced water main replacement needs on this
scale.
3. The costs of
reinvestment will
translate directly into
higher water bills.
Household water bills – for drinking water alone -will double and triple in some communities over the
next 25 years.
These figures do not include wastewater
infrastructure costs -- which are thought to be of
similar magnitude -- or costs of building additional
treatment facilities to meet new regulations.
Water rates will rise everywhere, but the size of
increases will vary depending on where you live and
the size of your community.
a. Size of Community Matters:
Households in smaller communities
will see larger increases in water bills,
because they have smaller
populations across which to spread
the costs. Costs in very small
communities could go up by as much
as $600 per year during peak
reinvestment periods.
b. Geography Matters: Pipe replacement
dominates the total needs in the
Northeast and the Midwest. Expansion
costs are slightly higher than
replacement costs in rapidly growing
South and West.
Additional Messages
Implied from Report
1. Deferring needed
investment leads to
problems today and
higher expenses in the
future.
Buried No Longer™ Briefing Matrix
Communities that push off rate increases to pay for
infrastructure risk the necessity of rate shock in the
future.
Water pipes are like our cars. They require regular
maintenance investment until it makes better
financial sense to replace them altogether.
Copyright© 2013 American Water Works Association
Water systems that are not properly maintain
present many problems.
a. Water main breaks are a hassle and
can create public health and safety
concerns.
b. Worn-out water pipes can waste large
amounts of water through leaks.
c. Poorly maintained systems lose
pressure and are a threat to fire
protection.
2. Here in [community],
[utility name] closely
manages its water
infrastructure and is
taking steps to assure
our systems remain
strong and reliable.
[Explain your utility’s approach to water
infrastructure management including:
Asset management plans.
Rate structures.
Other local financing.
Programs to help low-income customers.]
3. We used the Buried No
Longer Pipe
Replacement Modeling
Tool to estimate our
investment needs.
The tool uses the same methodology as the
national report, and takes into account when
different types of pipes went into the ground in our
community.
Here is what we found:
4. We are all the stewards
of the water
infrastructure
generations before
handed down to us.
[Explain the results of your Pipe Replacement
Modeling Tool exercise. Use graphics where
possible]
Our generation has not experienced the cost of
putting a million miles of pipe in the ground.
Our waters systems deliver public health protection,
fire protection, support for the economy, and the
quality of life we enjoy.
If we don’t act now, we will leave our children and
grandchildren with an expensive public health crisis.
Buried No Longer™ Briefing Matrix
Copyright© 2013 American Water Works Association
[Use the information on the cost of delay gleaned
from the Pipe Replacement Modeling Tool].
WIFIA Advocacy
While expenses ultimately
will be absorbed by
ratepayers, we may be able
to reduce the cost of
projects through a concept
known as WIFIA.
The Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation
Authority (WIFIA) is a concept proposed in Senate
legislation in February 2013. [check
awwa.org/infrastructure for WIFIA updates and
AWWA recommendations on which bills to support]
WIFIA would make low-cost loans available for
water projects.
WIFIA would lower the cost of large infrastructure
projects without adding to the long-term federal
deficit.
WIFIA would complement, not replace, existing SRF
funds.
[Our utility] supports this kind of mechanism
because it strikes just the right balance between
federal assistance and local responsibility.
[Distribute AWWA/WEF/AMWA WIFIA white paper
for background information.]
Questions? Contact AWWA Director of Communications Greg Kail, gkail@awwa.org,
303.734.3410, or AWWA Director of Legislative Affairs, Tommy Holmes, tholmes@awwa.org,
303-326-6128.
Buried No Longer™ Briefing Matrix
Copyright© 2013 American Water Works Association