United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) | GPE – October 30, 2017:
Events such as the discovery of lead in drinking water in Flint, Michigan, and the overflow and damage to the spillway at the Oroville Dam in California have drawn attention to the condition of the nation’s drinking water and wastewater infrastructure.
Originally published September 2017: Conditions such as population growth or drought may further affect a community’s needs and plans for such infrastructure. GAO was asked to review federal programs that provide funding for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure.
This report describes (1) how federal agencies and selected states identify drinking water and wastewater infrastructure needs; (2) how federal agencies have supported selected states’ planning for future conditions that may affect needs; and (3) the extent to which federal and state agencies have coordinated in funding projects, and any challenges they faced.
GAO reviewed eight federal agencies that provide assistance for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure and selected a nongeneralizable sample of six states — Alaska, California, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, and Tennessee — on the basis of federal infrastructure funding amounts and geography.
For the six states, GAO reviewed infrastructure planning and program documents and interviewed federal and state officials.
What GAO Recommends:
GAO is not making recommendations in this report. Federal agencies and states provided technical comments on a draft of this report that GAO incorporated as appropriate.
To read full report, in PDF format – please click here.
