Policy on Water Infrastructure Sustainability
EPA’s Clean Water and Drinking Water Infrastructure Sustainability Policy promotes sustainable infrastructure within the water sector. Federal, state and local officials collaborated with EPA to develop the policy.
The policy’s objective is to ensure that federal investments, policies and actions support water infrastructure in efficient and sustainable locations to aid existing communities, enhance economic competitiveness and promote affordable neighborhoods.
The policy emphasizes the need to build on existing efforts to promote sustainable water infrastructure, working with states and water systems to employ robust, comprehensive planning processes to deliver projects that are cost effective over their life cycle, resource efficient and consistent with community sustainability goals.
The policy encourages communities to develop sustainable systems that employ effective utility management practices to build and maintain the level of technical, financial and managerial capacity necessary to ensure long-term sustainability.