Congress is deliberating economic stimulus and funding plans to assist people during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those budget discussions include proposals for large-scale infrastructure funding programs. One aspect of our nation’s infrastructure that is in desperate need of modernization is our stormwater and sewer systems — which are woefully inadequate in the face of heavier rain events due to climate change.  

Join MountainTrue in calling for Congress to triple its annual appropriations for the Clean Water State Revolving Funds from $2 billion to $6 billion and explore additional investments in our nation’s drinking water and sewer infrastructure systems.

Submit a letter by filling out the form below. We encourage you to personalize it by telling your members of Congress about your own connection to the river.

With the Water Quality Act of 1987, the US Congress established the Clean Water State Revolving Funds (CWSRF) to provide sustainable, long-term financial assistance to support communities’ stormwater and drinking water needs. Since its inception, the CWSRFs have provided a total of $151.2 billion (as of 2018) in financial assistance — but this has only met a small fraction of what our nation needs in order to have modern water infrastructure.

The EPA has estimated a current price tag of $745 billion dollars in needed infrastructure repairs — $271 billion of which is needed to fix sewage and stormwater systems. And that doesn’t include what it will cost to adapt our water infrastructure to the challenge of climate change — an additional $448-944 billion.

North Carolina has enormous need for stormwater infrastructure repairs to keep our waterways clean, but very few of them are funded. North Carolina receives only around $25 million per year from the fund, but last year alone, there were $638.8 million in requests.

To fix the source of our region’s water pollution problem, more federal funding is a key piece of the puzzle. By directing billions in new funding to fix water infrastructure, Congress can create new green jobs, protect our rivers, and help preserve recreation-based economies all at once. Our Representatives can do this by tripling annual appropriations for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, as well as including new funding for drinking water and sewer infrastructure in future stimulus bills, infrastructure bills and budgets.
Will you call on your Congressional Representatives to support new stormwater investments for North Carolina?