Connecticut will receive almost $41 million to improve water infrastructure, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced last week. The money was allocated as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure law. It is part of a national fund to support water infrastructure.
“The nearly $41 million in federal funding announced today will help improve local water infrastructure through lead pipe replacement, wastewater management infrastructure improvements, and broken water main repairs,” said U.S. Representative John B. Larson in the press release. “We passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to accomplish these goals while also creating good-paying jobs, and I will continue to work with the entire Connecticut delegation to deliver federal funding to improve our water systems and ensure everyone has access to safe drinking water.”
In 2022, the Connecticut Society of Civil Engineers and the American Society of Civil Engineers published an analysis of Connecticut’s infrastructure. The “Report Card” found that 97% of residents have access to clean drinking water, which surpasses the national average. However, the state’s drinking and wastewater infrastructure are aging and are in need of repair.
According to the EPA’s press statement, “the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law mandates that a majority of [this] funding… must be provided to disadvantaged communities in the form of grants or loans that do not have to be repaid.”
Over $6 billion will be distributed nationwide through the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds in Fiscal Year 2025, the statement said. In the next five year, $50 billion will be invested into improving water infrastructure.
“These historic investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will go a long way towards tackling some of Connecticut’s most challenging water infrastructure projects,” said U.S. Senator Chris Murphy in the release. “This… will help ensure every community across our state has reliable access to clean, safe water for generations to come.”
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Clean Water General Supplemental funds for Connecticut will receive $30.5 million, the Emergency Contaminant funds will receive $2.6 million, and the Drinking Water Emerging Contamination Fund will receive $7.6 million.
Connecticut has received multiple grants to improve its water infrastructure this year. In February, the EPA allocated $61 million to the Department of Public Health (DPH) to, among other things, remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl contaminants (PFAS) and pollutants from water. This money also came from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In August, the DPH received a $556,000 grant to address the impact of climate change on the drinking water systems. This money will help install an emergency connection between the Montville and Seven Oaks Divisions distribution systems.
Earlier this month, the State Bond Commission approved $3 million in general obligation bonds so the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) could test wells for PFAS.
The Infrastructure Report Card predicts Connecticut will need $4 billion over the next 20 years to maintain drinking water systems.
“A commitment to clean water speaks volumes about a nation’s values. This… federal investment enables communities to improve their water infrastructure, expanding access to safe and clean drinking water, protecting our local freshwater sources, and reducing wastewater pollutants in our waterways,” U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal stated in the EPA’s press release last week.