This estimated shortfall is conservative, as utilities often do not know their 20-year needs when responding to surveys. The shortfall listed here sums these assessments, less the capital infrastructure spending in the census of governments. The EPA and AWWA have completed extensive needs assessments in the last decade. The variety of challenges cannot be used as an excuse to delay or avoid a policy response to this emergency.Ģ015-2035 Estimated Shortfall in Michigan Utility Infrastructure Funding (Billions of USD) In understanding that poverty, race, politics, and local finance present challenges that have evolved differently in each community, great care will be necessary to ensure that these unique challenges do not divert attention from attaining the collective needs identified above. The way forward requires negotiating multiple, competing, and often divisive narratives that are deeply rooted in the lived experience of various communities. When a household is unable to pay its water bills (i.e., the water is shut off), there are impacts to the household (damage to health, family, and dignity), the water utility (operational costs and unreliable revenue), and society (public health and collective well-being). At the water-utility level, economic stability provides for technical, managerial, and financial capacity.At the household level, economic stability provides for health, family stability, and human dignity.Sources: Raucher et al., 2019 Center for Water Security and Cooperation, 2021Īll stakeholders interviewed agreed on the following concepts:Īll Michiganders need available and affordable, safe and sustainable drinking water and sanitation services.Įconomic stability is a necessity, and it requires appropriate supplementation from state and federal entities. Household-level affordability refers to a household’s ability to pay for its water and sewer services without undue economic hardship, such as sacrificing other essential goods and services, e.g., health care, food, insurance, for access to water.Ĭommunity-level affordability relates to the community’s ability to afford water and sewer utility facilities and their operation and maintenance costs so that it delivers consistent and reliable water services compliant with applicable health and environment laws and regulations.Īccess to water means there is enough clean and safe water for household use, that the home has the necessary infrastructure to both receive fresh water and remove wastewater to protect human life and the environment. We use the term affordability to consider the issue at two key levels: To make progress on water affordability, it is important to have a shared definition of what affordability means. The COVID-19 pandemic and federal infrastructure funding present a new urgency and opportunity to address these issues holistically.Īffordability Ratio for the Most Vulnerable 10% of Households Policy discussions on water infrastructure funding often occur separately from discussions about affordability, with disparate outcomes. Water industry groups have been grading the condition of water infrastructure and quantifying the investment needed to ensure sustainable water systems for some time, noting that the reduction of federal and state investment has meant significant increases to water rates. If an entire community struggles to afford water infrastructure maintenance and renewal, the community may never receive the quality, reliable water service-for delivery and collection-that it needs to thrive. In many communities, inability to pay means the utility shuts off water service at individual homes, resulting in a lack of drinking water and basic sanitation at the household level. We use this important contextual information to offer key considerations for policymakers developing solutions to the identified challenges. These are complemented by perspectives, insights, and personal experiences with water rates, bills, and utility management, gleaned from conversations with frontline community groups, water utilities, and state agency personnel. The report presents quantitative analyses that are drawn from public source data. This assessment examines the current state of affordability of water services (drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater) across the state of Michigan. Excess water from flooding can cause extensive direct and indirect harms. People must have access to safe drinking water to survive and access to sanitation to prevent disease. Public health begins and ends with clean and available water. Water infrastructure is essential for meeting and managing basic human needs. All Michiganders need available and affordable, safe, and sustainable drinking water and sanitation services.
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