WASHINGTON– The Biden administration announced Tuesday that states would share $5.8 billion in federal funds for water infrastructure projects across the country, funded by one of its major legislative victories.
The new round of funding will help fund projects nationwide, bringing the total awarded to states for water infrastructure improvements to $22 billion. The money comes from the bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill that President Joe Biden signed in 2021, according to the White House.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who traveled to Pittsburgh to make the announcement, said everyone in the United States should have access to clean drinking water.
“I shouldn’t have to say this, but it comes down to it,” Harris said. “Every person should have the right and opportunity to have access to clean water, and it doesn’t matter where you live, how much money you earn or how much money you have in your back pocket,” he said. she declared.
Harris said more than $200 million of the new federal funding would go to Pennsylvania, one of several states that will help determine whether Biden wins re-election in November. The money will be used to replace lead pipes as well as aging water pipes and storm sewers, she said.
The Infrastructure Act provides more than $50 billion to modernize America’s water infrastructure and is being touted by the Biden administration as the largest investment in clean water in U.S. history.
The White House said Tuesday’s announcement included $3.2 billion for the so-called Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, which can be used for upgrades to water treatment plants. water, water distribution systems and pipes, as well as for the replacement of lead pipes. It also includes $1 billion for seven major rural water projects and $1 billion to support drinking water projects in the Great Lakes.
