Eric Suesz
The US government is investing a historical amount of money to rebuild and reinforce their water infrastructure. This is an opportunity for water professionals to fully embrace technology to help them achieve more, mitigate the ever-increasing water risks, and help realize a water-secure future. Do you know how it will affect you?
Listen in to Autodesk’s David Totman and Carolina Venegas Martinez, with their special guest Tommy Holmes from the American Water Association, as they dive into the historic IIJA funding to understand the potential and how you can be part of it.
Are you familiar with BABA and SRFs? Do you know how this money will be allocated – federally and in your own state? Tommy breaks it all down so you can understand where things stand, what happens next, and how you can be part of it.
Along the way, they touch on the current legislative state of the IIJA and provide some innovative examples of water technology successes by AECOM and Scottish Canals, Bristol Water, and Stantec and Wellington Water.
Do you know how to check for funding in your state? The AWA’s website has an excellent page of resources, one of which is an SRF (State Revolving Fund) contact finder. Click on your state and it will guide you to the people or place to enquire about loans for drinking water and wastewater.
America’s report card: C-
This funding is desperately needed. The 2021 ASCE America Infrastructure Report Card assigns the USA a worrisome (and perhaps generous) overall grade of “C-” for the state of their drinking water, stormwater, dams/levees, and inland waterways. An estimated $6 Trillion of spending is needed, of which only $3.35 Trillion is currently funded, leaving a $2.5 Trillion gap. The IIJA will help close some of that gap by investing around $1.2 Trillion around the US.
Funding on the rise across the globe
It’s not just the US government that’s opening its wallet to tackle these issues. Governments around the world are building new water infrastructure and shoring up old infrastructure. To get to where they need to be, they’ll need to place top-tier technology in the hands of their water professionals, some of whom are still new to the digital transformation of the water industry. The sooner we can get more water professionals around the world trained and up to speed on the latest technology, the faster the industry will be able to employ the potential of AI for water.
With a 2021 IDC report estimating that global spending on this digital transformation will double to $2.8 trillion by 2025, it’s an opportune moment for water professionals not just in the US but around the world to get some much needed support.