EBC Presents: The Water Forum – Water Infrastructure Financing in Massachusetts – Why Won’t We Pay?

The USEPA estimates that we will need $8.5 billion in Massachusetts to fund drinking water infrastructure over the next twenty years.  Similarly, they estimate that we will need $6.3 billion for wastewater infrastructure.  Where will this money come from?  The Massachusetts Infrastructure Investment Coalition (MIIC) worked with several coalition partners, including ACEC/MA, MWWA, NEWWA, MWPCA, NEWEA, and Clean Water Action, to file legislation in January to create a Water Infrastructure Finance Commission.  This legislation (SB 2292) was recently passed in the Senate, and is now under consideration in the House.  The legislation would create a commission whose purpose would be to identify the challenges related to water infrastructure financing, and recommend ways to improve the situation and find new sources of funding.

AGENDA – Detailed Agenda

THE WATER FORUM
The goal of The Water Forum is to bring together interested stakeholders to discuss water infrastructure financing issues in an open forum.  The desired result would be an exchange of ideas, greater understanding of the impacts on stakeholders, and the start of a collaborative process to build consensus.