Client:

Multiple organizations across the water sector, including nonprofits, trade associations, philanthropies, Fortune 500 companies, and others.

Why it matters:

America’s water systems are the foundation of public health, local economies, and community well-being. Adequately investing in our systems provides clean, safe water for residents while also creating good-paying jobs in fields like construction, engineering, and manufacturing.

The problem:

Despite the immense, multi-faceted value in funding water projects, there is a massive gap between the needed and actual investments in our nation’s water infrastructure. EPA projects that over $1.2 trillion in investment in drinking water and clean water infrastructure is needed over the next 20 years. 2025 research from the Value of Water Index suggests an even higher figure — as high as $3.4 trillion over 20 years when accounting for variables such as increasing regulatory requirements for water systems, increasing stressors from climate change, and cybersecurity concerns, and more.

Even with this large and growing need, the share of federal investment in water infrastructure has declined by more than 30 percent in recent decades, leaving many state and local governments struggling to maintain aging systems while keeping rates affordable for residents.

Our goal:

Working on behalf of several clients, our goal was to carry out strategic communications and lobbying campaigns to drive awareness for water infrastructure investment challenges and, ultimately, secure the increased levels of federal funding needed to address them.

What we did:

• Created policy and funding recommendations for Congress and the executive branch by leading the development and distribution of a 2020 industry white paper that informed the water infrastructure provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

• Developed a strategy to highlight the benefits of water infrastructure investment through ribbon cutting events for federally funded projects in local communities that engaged elected officials, the media, and the public.  

• Led a strategic communications and public policy campaign focused on water affordability that highlighted the importance of infrastructure investment and low-income customer assistance safeguards in the mission to provide clean water access for all Americans.

• Organized and executed a grassroots campaign for water infrastructure funding focused on key congressional districts, creating online materials directing constituents on how to support water funding advocacy efforts, including regular action alerts to write or call their members of Congress at strategic points in the legislative process. 

• Developed a series of reports on water infrastructure and the impending water funding cliff that will set in if the $50 billion water investment we secured in the IIJA is not continued, distributing these materials to Congress ahead of key decision points in funding discussions.

The Bottom Line:

Over the past five years, federal funding for water infrastructure has surged to historic levels with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) providing more than $50 billion in drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater investments—the largest such federal commitment in U.S. history—and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) adding substantial new resources and incentives for related resilience and environmental projects.