Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment Sixth Report to Congress Office of Water (4606M) EPA 816-K-17-002 March 2018 Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment Sixth Report to Congress U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water Drinking Water Protection Division Washington, D.C. 20460 Contents Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment ............................................................................... 1 Sixth Report to Congress .................................................................................................................................... 1 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................ 9 Total National Need ............................................................................................................................................ 9 National Need Compared to Previous Needs Assessments .............................................................................. 10 Individual State Need ........................................................................................................................................ 10 Regulatory Need ............................................................................................................................................... 11 Small System Need ........................................................................................................................................... 11 Needs of American Indian and Alaska Native Village Water Systems ............................................................ 11 Water Industry Capital Investment Planning and Documentation of Needs .................................................... 12 Chapter 1: Findings - National Need .................................................................................................................... 12 2015 Total National Need ................................................................................................................................. 13 2015 Total National Need Compared to EPA’s Previous Assessments ........................................................... 15 Total National Need by Project Category ......................................................................................................... 20 New Infrastructure Needs versus Needs Associated with Existing Infrastructure ........................................... 28 Need by System Size ........................................................................................................................................ 29 Needs Associated with SDWA Regulations ..................................................................................................... 30 Chapter 2: Findings - State Need .......................................................................................................................... 35 State-Specific Needs ......................................................................................................................................... 35 Needs of Water Systems in U.S. Territories ..................................................................................................... 39 Changes in State-Specific Need through Assessment Cycles ........................................................................... 40 Chapter 3: American Indian and Alaska Native Village Need ............................................................................. 42 American Indian and Alaska Native Village-Specific Needs ........................................................................... 43 American Indian Needs..................................................................................................................................... 44 Alaska Native Village Needs ............................................................................................................................ 44 Chapter 4 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................................... 46 Appendix A - Survey Methods ............................................................................................................................. 47 Assessing the Needs of Water Systems in States and U.S. Territories ............................................................. 47 Assessing the Need for Small Systems ............................................................................................................. 54 Assessing the Need of Not-for-Profit Noncommunity Water Systems ............................................................ 54 Assessing the Need of American Indian and Alaska Native Village Water Systems ....................................... 55 Appendix B - Data Collection ............................................................................................................................... 56 Survey Instrument ............................................................................................................................................. 57 Project Documentation ...................................................................................................................................... 57 Cost Estimates and Modeling ........................................................................................................................... 58 Website and Database ....................................................................................................................................... 58 Quality Assurance ............................................................................................................................................. 59 Continuing Evolution of the DWINSA ............................................................................................................. 60 Appendix C – Statutory and Regulatory Criteria and Policies ............................................................................. 62 Project Allowability .......................................................................................................................................... 62 Documentation Requirements ........................................................................................................................... 63 Appendix D - Accuracy, Precision, and Uncertainty ............................................................................................ 68 Uncertainty ........................................................................................................................................................ 68 Precision ............................................................................................................................................................ 68 Bias ................................................................................................................................................................... 69 Appendix E - Summary of Findings for State-Systems Serving 10,000 and Fewer People ................................. 71 Community Water Systems Serving 10,000 and Fewer People ....................................................................... 71 Glossary ................................................................................................................................................................ 73 Acknowledgments Many dedicated individuals contributed to the 2015 Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment. We would like to thank the states for their active participation and continuing interest in the project. And most importantly, we would like to thank the operators and managers of the thousands of water systems who spent their valuable time providing information for the Assessment. Executive Summary Total National Need The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) sixth national assessment of public water system infrastructure needs shows a total $472.6 Billion is Needed 20-year capital improvement need of $472.6 billion. This estimate The nation’s drinking water utilities represents Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) - eligible need $472.6 billion in infrastructure infrastructure projects necessary from January 1, 2015, through investments over the next 20 years December 31, 2034, for water systems to continue to provide safe for thousands of miles of pipe as drinking water to the public. The national total comprises the well as thousands of treatment infrastructure investment needs of the nation’s approximately 49,250 plants, storage tanks, and other key 1 community water systems (CWSs), 21,400 not-for-profit assets to ensure the public health, noncommunity water systems (NPNCWSs), American Indian water security, and economic well-being 2 systems and Alaska Native Village water systems. The findings are of our cities, towns, and based on the 2015 Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and communities. Assessment (DWINSA or Assessment), which relied primarily on a statistical survey of public water systems. The survey response rate was 99.7 percent (2,592 responses from 2,600 systems surveyed), the highest response rate in the history of the Assessment, providing a high degree of confidence in the statistical precision of the Assessment’s findings. Authority, Purpose, and History The estimate covers infrastructure needs that are