Water Infrastructure Act of 2018
In September of 2018, the House and U.S. Senate were able to come together and reach an agreement on America’s water infrastructure. The lawmakers committed to legislation known as America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018. On October 23, 2018, President Donald Trump signed this into law and enacting nationwide policies that authorized water resource projects.
Serious Need of Attention
Every community in the United States depends on its infrastructure designed to handle water. Economic growth can only happen with effective drinking water systems, levees, ports, and reservoirs that operate efficiently. Small business, as well as families, crops, and livestock, all depend on having access to sufficient amounts of clean water. It is important for communities to have an infrastructure that avoids dangerous flooding and can store extra water to handle drought conditions when they occur and more.
All this depends on a community’s infrastructure for water. Many of these systems throughout the country are old and need immediate attention. The Trump Infrastructure bill provides communities with the necessary tools to improve their infrastructure as well as create jobs and more.
Water Storage Capabilities
Some of the Infrastructure spendings will be for projects designed to improve water storage capabilities of the United States. Irrigation and drinking systems, as well as an upgrade to wastewater handling, are some other projects that are part of the new legislation. There is also water resource development projects that will be deauthorized in the amount of $4 billion. These are projects determined by Congress to not be valid. This is because they lack local support. These projects are also considered to not be feasible, relevant or have insufficient resources.
Priority
The issues associated with this legislation are a priority for President Donald Trump’s White House. According to a document provided by the White House, the President is going to take federal money in the amount of $200 billion and turn it into over $1.4 trillion designated for repairing and improving America’s water infrastructure. This will be accomplished by leveraging private investment as well as state and local tax funds.
Out of this total amount, only $200 billion is designed to be taken directly from federal spending. Local and state governments are intended to have a 4-to-1 ratio of matching federal allocation.
Marginalized Communities
The Trump Infrastructure bill is designed to help marginalized communities with their water needs. A minimum of one employee from the EPA will be the contact person for each issue affecting low-income, tribal as well as minority communities. A provision in the legislation requires the government to make low-income communities a priority when it comes to programs designed for lead testing.
Funding for tribal land water projects is authorized in this legislation. It also directs an investigation into Native American tribes in Oregon to see if building certain dams has caused them to be displaced. America’s farmers and ranchers are in need of a consistent water supply and this legislation provides it.
Water Resource Projects
This Infrastructure spending will fund over 99 water resource projects involving construction, modification, expansion as well as studies by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. These projects will increase employment opportunities in the communities where they take place. It is expected these projects will increase economic growth. They will make it possible to keep important waterways open.
This will result in it being easier for companies to ship their American products around the world. It will increase the ability of American companies to compete with other international businesses on a global scale.
Safe Drinking Water
This bipartisan legislation is considered one of the most important drinking water laws to be enacted in over twenty years. An old program that made it possible for states to borrow money to maintain or build a drinking water system was reauthorized. It also creates and establishes programs designed to help communities around the country deal with any level of drinking water contamination. It is understood that unhealthy levels of lead in Flint, Michigan’s water was avoidable. This legislation expands programs designed to eliminate lead from the drinking fountains located in schools and more.
In a rare feat of camaraderie, both Democrats and Republicans agree that legislation like the Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 proves both sides can work together on important issues that impact all Americans. This legislation is considered a win for America’s environment, families, and the economy.
How SCADA Systems Help with Infrastructure Improvements
A large part of the challenge involved in maintaining, upgrading, and developing new water infrastructure lies in the effective monitoring of both equipment and operations. This includes having the ability to quickly detect where improvements can be made. SCADA can help.
A cloud-based SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) not only provides this luxury, but it also enables system operators to understand how their system is functioning. Additionally, it will automatically send alarm notifications when an issue is detected. This ensures that water and wastewater companies are providing the best service and product possible to their customers.
High Tide Technologies provides cloud-based SCADA solutions that integrate advanced telemetry hardware with the most comprehensive software package in the industry. Through a secure client portal, operators have remote access to all the data they need to understand and effectively optimize their water and wastewater systems.