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GROUNDBREAKING NEWSNew CWC ReportSupports theValue ofInfrastructureInvestmentA new report by the Clean Water Council(CWC) illuminates facts that our leaders need toknow, not only as Congress implements the massiveeconomic stimulus package passed in February,but also for decades to come as the NationalUtility Contractors Association (NUCA) seeks toincrease funding for water and wastewater infrastructure(e.g., SRF appropriations and reauthorization),support efforts to create a water infrastructuretrust fund, create opportunities to createmore opportunities for private investment in water/wastewaterinfrastructure markets, etc. To thatend, NUCA has provided copies to all legislativeoffices on Capitol Hill, each CWC member and allthe members and chapters of the NUCA.In commenting on the value of the Sudden Impact:Assessment of Short-Term Economic Impactsof Water and Wastewater Projects in the UnitedStates report, NUCA CEO Bill Hillman had this tosay: “By revising and expanding the much-heraldedCWC findings from the early 1990s, the new findingswill be instrumental in our struggle to drawpublic and political attention to the growing infrastructure crisis andprocure new funding to meet documented national needs.”The report shows that targeted water and wastewater investmentcontained in a wide range of legislation could, in short order,generate hundreds of thousands of skilled positions payingliving wages. As noted in the report, “a $1 billion investment inwater and sewer projects [also] generates measurable nationalemployment in 325 other standard industry classifications,everything from tires to tortillas.”The report also shows that a $1 billion investment in waterand wastewater infrastructure results in total national output(i.e., demand for products and services in all industries) of between$2.87 billion and $3.46 billion, creates up to 26,669new jobs (with average annual earnings for the constructionportion of the jobs at an impressive $50,396) and generatespersonal (household) income of between $1.01 billion and$1.06 billion. In addition, each $1 billion invested generatesapproximately $82.4 million in state and local tax revenue.8 Utility Contractor | July 2009The results are based on actual data collected from 116 waterand wastewater construction projects in five demographicallydiverse states, including 73 different counties. The projects werecompleted in 2006 and 2007 and encompass a comprehensivearray of geographic regions, project types, size, materials,construction methods and labor markets. The output, jobs andincome (direct, indirect and induced) tied to these projectswere determined at the county, state and national levels usingtwo respected input-output models and multipliers (IMPLANand RIMS II).“The CWC took inventory of actual projects in order to fuelthe models with real-world data that accurately reflect currentactivity. The report is short and sharp, and the economic findingsare rock solid,” added Hillman. “Not only are the impactssudden, but they are also significant, targeted to an area of realneed and do not increase the size of government.”Each of the 116 projects analyzed in the assessment weavesa powerful local story, quantifying the interactions between