President’s Message

Summer Weather Highlights the Need to Update Our Infrastructure

Another summer is now behind us, and while we are still dealing with pandemic related issues, I hope everyone remained busy and was also able to enjoy a more normal summer. One element of summer that has become increasingly normal is extreme weather. We had multiple heat waves, along with soaking rains and tropical storms, resulting in several floods. Many areas of the State have already experienced their wettest years on record, and we still have four months left in the year. We have come to expect this type of disparity in the weather over the last few years, regardless of the season. The need for climate resiliency is yet another critical reason why we need a significant investment in our water infrastructure.

UCANE continues to emphasize that our drinking water and wastewater infrastructure systems are outdated. We track water main breaks throughout the state, which we hear about on almost a daily basis. Most of these breaks are caused by old pipes, which are ill equipped to handle the disparities in weather. The storms over the last few years have only served to highlight how old and woefully inadequate our infrastructure is. This magazine has reported on the CSO issues along the Merrimack River and the millions of gallons of raw sewage that are spilled into the river during storms, because several treatment plants along the river are too old and are not equipped to handle the storm surges that occur.

Recently, during tropical storm Ida, well over 100 million gallons of raw sewage was spilled into the river. Several other CSOs also occurred throughout the State. These type of incidents should not be happening in 2021, yet they regularly do.

The encouraging news is that we now have an opportunity for a once-in-a-generation investment in our infrastructure. The State Legislature is currently debating how to spend the close to $5 billion allocated to Massachusetts through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

When Congress passed the ARPA as part of COVID relief, they specifically said that a portion of the funds be spent on water infrastructure. Governor Baker recommended $400 million for the State Revolving Fund (SRF) program and the Clean Water Trust (CWT), which continues to be the main source of funding for water infrastructure in the State. We want to thank Governor Baker for recommending this investment, and we will advocate for that amount to be the minimum that be spent, as much more is needed to address the $18 billion to $21 billion funding gap Massachusetts faces.

At the federal level, Congress is moving towards a large scale infrastructure bill. The current bill contains $55 billion for water infrastructure across the country, so Massachusetts and New England could also see a significant influx of monies through this legislation as well. MassDEP reports that applications for projects to be approved by the CWT in 2022 total close to $2 billion, which leaves little doubt that the need is there for additional funds.

UCANE is taking nothing for granted. We continue to be proactive by promoting an additional investment in our members and our industry. We recently hired Denterlein, a highly respected Boston public relations firm, to work with us on an ongoing campaign to continue to make water infrastructure a top priority for our local, state, and federal leaders, as well as the general public. There will be much more to come during the upcoming weeks and months, but as we launch our campaign, you can read more about our vision for it on page 21. These drinking water and wastewater projects are critical to public health and economic development, and it is imperative that our elected officials take advantage of the opportunity being presented through these additional funding measures. n