Leaders in the water infrastructure industry, in association with The Bill Lane Center for the American West at Stanford University, released a report titled “Planning for America’s Water Infrastructure Need,” which focuses on shared interests and challenges likely to face water infrastructure in the future. The report came out of a workshop held in February that reviewed the challenges in aging water infrastructure through the lens of funding, leadership, streamlined investment procedures, education, and interconnectivity. The group, which included ASCE representative Greg DiLoreto, Chair of the Committee on America’s Infrastructure and Past President, then explored possible policy options at the federal, state and local levels for further research and/or decision-maker consideration.
The report explores several policy suggestions:
- “Looping water,” so that it imitates the natural water cycle loop
- Making infrastructure more resilient
- Increased funding from all levels of government and the private sector
The solutions proposed by this interdisciplinary workshop further support ASCE’s 2017 Infrastructure Report Card solutions: investment, leadership & planning, and preparing for the future.