WATER

Renew America’s Water

Why Colorado Needs Federal Investment in Public Water to
Provide Safe Water for Generations to Come
Fact Sheet • October 2010

C olorado’s public water systems have provided reliable access to drinking water
and safe disposal of wastewater for decades, yet a crisis looms. When Congress
passed the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act to ensure that our
waterways were protected and our drinking water safe, they provided increased
funding for community water systems to meet these more protective standards.
However, since the 1980s, the federal government has been cutting back funding to
communities for water infrastructure, with assistance falling to historic lows under
the Bush administration. At the same time, many of our nation’s water systems that
were built in the early 20th century are reaching the end of their lifespan. Without
dedicated federal funding, communities simply cannot afford to make the necessary
repairs to pipes and water systems that keep our waters clean and safe. This lack of
investment in communities’ water infrastructure poses a danger to the environment
and threatens the safety of our water for future generations.

The campaign to Renew America’s Water will create a

dedicated source of federal funding, which will improve
water quality, protect the environment, create good jobs
and ensure safe, reliable water for generations to come.

Reliable Access to Safe Water Is

Threatened
Colorado’s drinking water and sewer infrastructure needs
dramatically outpace available funding. According to Colo-
rado’s latest project eligibility list for the Drinking Water
State Revolving Fund (SRF) program, the state’s public water
systems need $1.9 billion to keep our water safe.1 In 2010,
the state’s Drinking Water Revolving Fund program, which
provides low-interest loans and grants to maintain safe
drinking water, received $24.1 million in federal funding —
enough to finance only 1 percent of what is needed.2

Colorado’s publicly owned wastewater systems need $2.4
billion to protect water quality and public health.3 In
2010, the state’s Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund
program, which goes toward wastewater infrastructure,
received $16.5 million in federal funding — enough to
finance less than 1 percent of what is needed.4
As a result, even after state contributions, state revolving
funds fall $4.3 billion short of what is needed to maintain
Colorado’s water and sewer systems, leaving local govern-
ments with much of the financial burden. Additional fund-
ing is necessary to maintain and improve the state’s water
quality. We need to act now to Renew America’s Water and
close this funding gap.
Protecting Our Rivers and Lakes
Aging water infrastructure does more than threaten our
future access to reliable drinking water — it also harms the
environment in our communities. Aging sewer pipes can
burst and spill untreated waste into our rivers, lakes and
streams. This is a problem in communities across the state.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s
Colorado 2008 Water Quality Assessment Report, 14 per-
cent of the state’s river and stream miles, and 46 percent of
its lake, reservoir and pond waters assessed were impaired
and too polluted to support their designated uses.5 Sewage
overflows and stormwater runoff can also cause waters to
be unfit for recreational use.
Furthermore, leaks in our aging pipes lose water, even in
parts of the country facing water shortages. According to
the U.S. Geological Survey, 1.7 trillion gallons of water are
lost from distribution to consumer taps — equivalent to
one out of every five gallons of drinking water.6
Increased investment in water and sewer systems will bet-
ter protect our rivers and lakes and reduce loss of treated
drinking water through leaky pipes.
Creating Quality Jobs and Investing in
Our Future
Renewing America’s Water will not just provide universal
access to water and an improved environment — it will
also create hundreds of thousands of quality jobs at a time
when our communities need it most. Colorado’s unem-
ployment rate continues to hover around 7.9 percent with
209,000 people out of work.7
According to the National Utility Contractors Association,
for every $1 billion spent on water infrastructure, between
20,003 and 26,669 jobs are created.8 Fully addressing the
state’s annual water funding shortfall would generate up to
114,061 employment opportunities, not only in the water
sector but throughout the local economies that benefit
from the increased employment. Therefore, every federal
dollar invested in infrastructure yields a $1.59 return to our
states.9 That could put one out of two unemployed people
in the state back to work.10 Water and sewer infrastructure
jobs are typically filled locally, and investing now in water
and sewer systems can generate solid economic growth
and bring jobs into our communities.
Fixing Water Infrastructure in Schools
Schools across Colorado have outdated water pipes and
drinking fountains that have fallen into disrepair. As a
result, children do not have access to safe drinking water
at school. Currently, there is no federal funding devoted to
updating and repairing drinking water systems in schools.
The campaign to Renew America’s Water would provide
grants to schools to make the repairs needed to provide
safe, affordable tap water to students.
It’s Time to Renew America’s Water
To Renew America’s Water, we need a comprehensive,
long-term solution that fully funds our water infrastruc-
ture needs. Funds must be dedicated for this purpose and
protected from yearly political decisions. Legislation to
Renew America’s Water must include funds to assist rural
and low-income communities, help large municipalities,
and provide grants to improve water access in our public
schools. Such an investment would relieve overburdened
state and municipal governments, create hundreds of thou-
sands of good jobs, and ensure universal access to clean
drinking water for generations to come.
Take Action
Get involved in the campaign to Renew America’s Water.
Visit us at www.foodandwaterwatch.org/renew to:
• Sign the petition and endorse the campaign
• Join our team of activists who blog or write letters to
the editor about the campaign
• Host a house party movie screening about our water
needs
• Find out more ways to get involved
Endnotes
1 . Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. “Drinking Water
Revolving Fund 2010 Project Eligibility List.” December 11, 2009.
2 Office of Water, United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Final State
Allotment of Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Appropriation for Fiscal
Year 2010.” September 15, 2010.
3 Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. “Water Pollution
Control Revolving Fund and Domestic Wastewater Treatment Grant 2010
Project Eligibility List.” December 16, 2010.
4 Office of Water, United States Environmental Protection Agency. “FY 2010
Enacted Final CWSRF Allotments.” January 15, 2010.
5 United States Environmental Protection Agency, Watershed Assessment,
Tracking & Environmental Results. “Colorado 2008 Water Quality Assessment
Report Assessed Waters of Colorado by Watershed.” Available at: http://iaspub.
epa.gov/waters10/attains_index.control?p_area=CO, accessed October 18,
2010.
6 US Environmental Protection Agency. Water Research Adaptation Program:
Research Areas. Available at: http://www.epa.gov/nrmrl/wswrd/wqm/wrap/
research.html, accessed September 30, 2010.
7 Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor. Economy at a
Glance: Colorado. Available at: http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.co.htm, accessed
October 18, 2010.
8 PA Consulting Group. Clean Water Council. “Sudden impact: An assessment
of short-term economic impacts of water and wastewater construction projects
in the United States.” June 8, 2009 at 6.
9 Schwartz, Bernard L. and Schwenninger, Sherle R. “A Public Infrastructure–
-Led Economic Recovery Program.” December 4, 2008; Zandi, Mark. Chief
economist and co-founder, Moody’s Economy.com. Testimony on Economic
Stimulus For Small Business: A Look Back and Assessing Need For Additional
Relief. U.S. House Committee on Small Business. July 24, 2008.
10 Food & Water Watch Calculation: 26,669 x 4.27692 = 114,061;
114,061/209,900 = 54.34% or over 1 in 2
For more information:
web: www.foodandwaterwatch.org
email: info@fwwatch.org
phone: (202) 683-2500 (DC) • (415) 293-9900 (CA)
Copyright © October 2010 Food & Water Watch