(2023, October 25). Over $7 billion to invest: America wants to protect its water. Webuildvalue.com. Retrieved January 26, 2024, from https://www.webuildvalue.com/en/global-economy-sustainability/water-investments-usa.html
The environmental protection agency (EPA) is using billions of dollars from the bipartisan job act to focus on our water infrastructure. This money will be used to address the needs of thousands of outdated and aging dams The USACE will take ccontrol of this effort and manage the vast network of dams across the country. The WIFIA program has been funded with $7.5 billion, and their main focus will be on impoverished and disadvantaged communities. Along with these projects, other companies like WeBuild Group will be helping with major projects, with their focus on flood management and water quality. With all of these companies and efforts, the United States is aiming to take control of the situation at hand, having around 91,000 dams in the country, most of which contracts have already expired or will be expired by the year of 2027.
This article is all about the upcoming efforts of companies and programs like the EPA, USACE and WIFIA. They now have access to billions of dollars from the bipartisan job act to focus on the rissing issue of our water infrastructure, mainly focused on dams. This is a problem all throughout the country, with many dams contracts expiring soon and quickly. With the removal of dams comes lots of problems like flooding, sediment release, water quality, etc. This is why groups like the WeBuild Group will be helping out, with their main focus on less fortunate areas. Now our country has a good plan to tackle this urgent issue. I think the strategy we are using is great, by harnessing billions of dollars we are able to get the funding we need and never had previously. We are in a great position now to get this problem figured out.
It seems like dams are a much bigger problem than I or many people anticipated, this program seems like a good start to undo some of the environmental damage that we’ve caused. Are they facing much pushback about trying to remove these dams?
I share the your belief that community safety and well-being depend greatly on investments made in water infrastructure. Focusing on underprivileged communities and high-risk dams is especially crucial from the standpoint of environmental justice. In environmental science, addressing outdated water infrastructure also ensures the sustainability of water resources and is a proactive step. In what way does the author intend for these investments to incorporate green infrastructure in order to improve ecosystem services and climate change resilience?
Maintenance of dams seems like a big issue. They need to be kept up along the way, but at the same time some need to be removed so we can let the environment recover locally. Will removing them really undo the damage, or will the process create more problems?