Upgrading water systems can reduce pollution - and put nearly 1.9 million people to work
Green for All
10/04/2011
Want to create nearly 1.9 million American jobs and add $265 billion to the economy? Upgrade our water and wastewater infrastructure.
That’s the message of a new report released today by Green For All, in partnership with American Rivers, the Economic Policy Institute and the Pacific Institute.
Every year, sewage overflows dump 860 billion gallons of raw sewage into our water systems – enough to cover the entire state of Pennsylvania with waste one-inch deep. But investment in our nation’s infrastructure to handle stormwater and wastewater has lagged, falling by one-third since its 1975 peak.
The report, Water Works: Rebuilding Infrastructure, Creating Jobs, Greening the Environment, looks at an investment of $188.4 billion in water infrastructure – the amount the Environmental Protection Agency indicates would be required to manage stormwater and preserve water quality. That investment would inject a quarter of a trillion dollars into the economy, create nearly 1.3 million direct and indirect jobs in related sectors and result in 568,000 additional jobs from increased spending.
The report also notes that this is the best moment to make the investment. With the recession creating a shortfall of 11.1 million jobs (that would be otherwise be enough to keep pace with the population growth) and with 9.1% unemployment, these are jobs that are critically needed. Moreover, the cost of financing these essential upgrades is at historic lows, and the still-struggling economy means much cheaper construction costs.
