Underground Infrastructure - February 2023 - 13

much higher share than usual not needing
to be repaid.
Also, IIJA contains $15 billion to
replace all service lines covered by the
EPA's Revised Lead and Copper Rule
- lead lines and galvanized pipe downstream
from a lead pipe. Congress has
been under extreme public pressure since
the Flint, Mich., lead-poisoning disaster a
few years ago, and investing in lead pipe
replacement has been a high priority.
Much of the
said a municipal respondent from the
Northeast. " We have needed to get this
work started for some time and now we
feel confident we have the money to make
some big leaps forward. "
A municipal manager from the West
Coast agreed. " We would never have
been able to finance this major project
we're in the middle of right now without
federal assistance. "
federal funding
was dispensed directly to states via
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) grants. From there, state
Departments of Environmental Quality
(DEQ) and various local agencies guided
the funds to projects and needs. Funding
awards were spread throughout the year
in various sizes, rather than in a singular
concerted nationwide initiative.
It was as if the EPA/federal government
wanted to ride the goodwill wave
for all of 2022. Regardless, the money arrived
and is being enthusiastically spent.
As we enter 2023, the funding gravy
train news keeps getting better. In 2022,
sewer and water spending jumped almost
15 percent on a national average. Yet, forecasting
experts are projecting the spending
love will not only match that in 2023,
but should come in significantly higher -
perhaps by as much as 10 percent.
Underground Infrastructure magazine
works closely with FMI, the nation's leading
consulting and investment banking
firm for construction companies within
the built environment. Notably, FMI is
forecasting that spending increases for
municipal sewer and water could jump by
as much as 12 percent in 2023 and 2024.
UI's forecast, on the other hand, is
a bit more restrained, though still very
positive. UI's data is based on projections
from direct municipal responses.
While largely mimicking 2022 and anticipating
continued growth in 2023, cities
tended to be somewhat more cautious in
their responses.
Still, the outlook for 2023 is the best it
has been for decades and 2024 could be
even better. That is incredible news any
way you process it.
Positive
" We've got a tremendous amount of work
we're engineering and releasing for some
big projects that have been pending, "
Further, there seems to be an increasing
momentum at the state and local level
to ante up with additional funding to further
supplement federal funds. The state
governments have rarely had such large
amounts to divvy up among needy cities
in the past. Those officials apparently believe
that supplementing landmark federal
spending with even more state and local
funds presents a rare opportunity to truly
attack problems and needs that have been
simmering on the backburner for decades.
An inadvertent bonus of the IIJA funding
bonanza is that it has changed the average
citizens' perception of public works
projects. Attacking sewer and storm-sewer
issues are now viewed in a favorable
public light, rather than being ignored for
" important " political items, such as pocket
parks in a local politician's neighborhood.
Water
construction
and
rehabilitation
is on a roll, as well. Lead pipe
replacement continues to be a major
driving force, but water main and disPersonnel
Performance Rating (per municipalities)
3.7
3.8
3.9
3.9
3.9
3.9
3.9
3.8
3.8
3.9
2019
2020
2021
Contractors
2022
2023
2019
2020
2021
Consulting engineers
When Using Trenchless Methods, how often are the following technologies used:
59%
Spray-type manhole
Point repairs
CIPP
Chemical root control
HDD
Lateral lining
Pipe bursting
Folded pipe
Microtunneling
Pipe ramming
Sliplining
15%
4%
6%
2%
UndergroundInfrastructure.com | FEBRUARY 2023 13
30%
23%
29%
22%
45%
37%
2022
2023
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Underground Infrastructure - February 2023

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