Part 1: The case for caring about infrastructure

In recent years, elected officials in Washington have occasionally mentioned funding to “rebuild infrastructure,” usually referring to bridges and roadways. It’s absolutely true that America’s highways and bridges are aging, but our wastewater assets are also ready for a facelift.

Wastewater infrastructure includes the components that move sewage from start (generation) to finish (re-entering the water cycle after treatment). Infrastructure includes the pipes and pumps that transport wastewater, the structures that hold it as microorganisms break down pollutants, and equipment that provides the process with air and other ingredients.

Much sewer infrastructure in the U.S. was constructed in the 1970s and is nearing the end of its life, but in New England, our infrastructure is much older. Some sewer pipe in Maine was installed before the Civil War!

When is the last time you saw wastewater infrastructure? Unless you had a clog in your house plumbing, you probably haven’t. That’s because these assets are hidden: pipes buried below grade; pump stations disguised by historical architecture features; treatment plants located off the beaten path. But the infrastructure is still there, doing its job 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Keeping these systems functioning takes a team of dedicated and creative operators, but without required maintenance, they will wear out.

When sewage infrastructure fails, it’s not pretty, and it can smell even worse. There isn’t a town in Maine that would volunteer to have sewage gush from a manhole, run into a stream because a pump failed, or leak into soil from broken pipes and show up at a popular clamming area. However, each of these can result from delaying funding for basic needs. Addressing our planning failures on an emergency-only basis can cost up to many times more than a planned, phased approach.

What is your role in this? Find out where wastewater infrastructure is in your community, and how old it is. Watch your local sanitary district or department meeting on your local cable access channel. Read the executive summary of the design report that recommended the wastewater infrastructure project up for vote at your town meeting. Don’t put things into your sewer that don’t belong there, like wipes or other trash, cooking grease, or pharmaceuticals. Tell your representatives that you value infrastructure funding and make sure they know that includes sewer. Visualize how a failure of the wastewater system would change life in your community.

Part 2: Funding protection of public and environmental health

Maine Department of Environmental Protection

Many Maine residents who were alive prior to the birth of the Clean Water Act in 1972 remember when untreated waste made our rivers “too thick to drink and too thin to plow,” yet today Maine boasts some of the best water quality in the country. How did this amazing transformation happen? For the answer, look no further than our state’s 164 municipal wastewater treatment facilities. This important public infrastructure often referred to as Publicly Owned Treatment Works or POTWs serves Mainers 365 days a year.

The majority of Maine POTWs were built directly following the passage of the Clean Water Act with their construction funded primarily by federal grant money. With the typical useful life of a POTW measured at approximately 25-30 years, Maine is now faced with the task of ensuring that this vital public infrastructure is properly upgraded and maintained.

The ongoing construction and funding needs of Maine’s wastewater infrastructure are significant with the estimated current cost for needed upgrades at approximately $1 billion. Funding to address these needs comes from several sources including federal Environmental Protection Agency grants, Community Development Block Grants, Rural Development loans and grants, and local sources.

Another important source of funding for POTWs is the Maine Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund, established in 1987 and managed jointly by the Maine Municipal Bond Bank and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

The CWSRF – primarily funded by federal grants – provides low interest loans to POTWs for construction of infrastructure upgrades. To obtain these grants, the State must provide matching funds (one State dollar brings five federal dollars to Maine). State matching funds typically come from bond issues approved by Maine voters. This federal and state money is loaned out and repaid with interest, and the interest and principal is returned to the fund to be loaned out again, creating a sustainable fund that will provide Maine POTWs with low-interest loans in perpetuity.

To date, Maine’s contribution of $50 million in state matching funds has provided for 333 loans totaling $653 million to 110 POTWs. These low-interest loans have an economic benefit to Maine’s communities beyond the infrastructure upgrades. The CWSRF loans also spur job creation through construction and engineering work necessary to complete the projects. It is estimated that 18 jobs are created per $1 million of wastewater infrastructure investment and that for every $1 spent on construction, $5 circulates through the economy.

For more information about the CWSRF, visit www.maine.gov/dep/water/grants or contact DEP Engineering Services Manager John True at [email protected] or (207) 287-7808.