AWWA JAW53971

This column discusses the US Environmental Protection Agency's cornerstone report for constructing a plan to address the critical investment need to upgrade the nation's aging water and wastewater infrastructure. Called the 1999 Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey (DWINS), the report concludes that the nation's 55,000 community water systems (CWSs) and 21,400 not-for-profit noncommunity water systems (NCWSs) will need to spend at least $150.9 billion over the next 20 years to pay for projects eligible for Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) assistance to ensure delivery of safe drinking water. This report forms the basis for revising the formula that determines how much each state receives in annual federal grants to capitalize their DWSRFs for the next four years. Besides identifying a total needs figure for the next 20 years, the 1999 DWINS report breaks the numbers down into current and future needs, needs by size and type of system and by type of infrastructure improvement, needs to achieve and maintain compliance with existing and forthcoming SDWA regulations and by individual states and territories as well as American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Includes tables.