Water infrastructure spans drinking-water sources, treatment plants, transmission and distribution networks, storage, wastewater systems, stormwater controls, and decentralized facilities. The figures below distinguish reported or projected capital needs from observed service and treatment measures, with dates and coverage stated for each statistic.
Key Water Infrastructure Statistics
The most broadly useful water infrastructure figures include:
- $625.0 billion in projected 20-year drinking-water infrastructure needs was estimated for U.S. states and territories in the 2021 assessment.
- $420.8 billion of the 2021 drinking-water need was for distribution and transmission across U.S. states and territories.
- The 7th DWINSA total was 32% higher than the 6th assessment’s $472.6 billion for U.S. states and territories.
- The 7th DWINSA surveyed 3,629 public water systems and received 3,526 responses for a 97% response rate.
- Medium community water systems serving 3,301 to 100,000 people represented $273.1 billion of state drinking-water need in the 2021 assessment.
- Large community water systems serving more than 100,000 people represented $235.2 billion of state drinking-water need in the 2021 assessment.
- The 2022 CWNS reported $630.1 billion in clean-water infrastructure needs for projects expected from January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2041.
- Wastewater infrastructure represented $345.7 billion, or 55%, of the 2022 CWNS total in the United States.
- Stormwater management represented $115.3 billion, or 18%, of the 2022 CWNS total in the United States.
- The CWNS counted 17,544 publicly owned treatment works serving 270.4 million people in January 2022.
- About 42% of the U.S. population was served by advanced wastewater treatment in 2022, compared with less than 4% in 1972.
- Conveyance-system needs increased 27%, from $118.7 billion in 2012 to $151.1 billion in 2022 in the CWNS assessments.
- EPA projected 9.2 million lead service lines nationally in the 2021 DWINSA.
- American Indian and Alaska Native Village water systems had $4.1 billion in projected 20-year capital needs in the 2021 assessment.
- CWNS projects 17,679 operational facilities serving 287.4 million people in 2042 in the United States.
Contents
- Drinking-water investment needs
- Drinking-water infrastructure by project category
- Community water-system size and state data
- Wastewater and stormwater infrastructure
- Water infrastructure trends and future capacity
- Lead service-line statistics
- State, territory, and Tribal needs
Drinking-Water Infrastructure Statistics: Investment Needs
EPA’s Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment 7th Report to Congress estimated $625.0 billion in eligible 20-year drinking-water infrastructure needs for U.S. states and territories, measured in January 2021 dollars. This is a projected infrastructure need, not actual spending or a total of unfunded liabilities.
The 7th DWINSA covered public water systems in the 50 states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and territories. EPA surveyed 3,629 systems, received 3,526 responses, and reported a 97% response rate.
| DWINSA assessment | Reported national need | Measurement context |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | $137.1 billion | Assessment-year dollars |
| 1999 | $148.7 billion | Assessment-year dollars |
| 2003 | $274.3 billion | Assessment-year dollars |
| 2007 | $331.9 billion | Assessment-year dollars |
| 2011 | $380.9 billion | Assessment-year dollars |
| 2015 | $468.8 billion | Assessment-year dollars |
| 2021 | $625.0 billion | January 2021 dollars; 20-year need |
EPA reported that the 2021 total was 32% higher than the 6th DWINSA estimate of $472.6 billion. The historical series uses each report’s assessment-year dollars, so it is not a single constant-dollar series.
Source: Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment 7th Report to Congress.
Drinking-Water Infrastructure Data by Project Category
Distribution and transmission dominated the 2021 drinking-water assessment, with $420.8 billion, or 67% of state need. Other categories covered treatment, storage, source projects, and remaining infrastructure.
| Project category | 20-year need | Share of state-and-territory need |
|---|---|---|
| Distribution and transmission | $420.8 billion | 67% |
| Treatment | $106.4 billion | 17% |
| Storage | $55.3 billion | 9% |
| Source projects | $24.9 billion | 4% |
| Other projects | $17.6 billion | 3% |
The territory component represented about $1.15 billion of the national state-and-territory need. Within that estimate, distribution and transmission represented $519.3 million, treatment $232.3 million, storage $266.7 million, and source projects $70.6 million.
All figures in this section are EPA estimates for the 2021 assessment and are expressed in January 2021 dollars. They describe project-category needs rather than completed construction or measured service outcomes.
Source: Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment 7th Report to Congress.
Community Water-System Statistics by Size and Type
EPA’s 2021 state drinking-water estimates separate community systems by the population they serve. The categories are useful for interpreting whether projected needs sit mainly with smaller local systems or larger systems serving dense populations.
| System category | Population definition | Reported need | Share of state need |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small community | 3,300 or fewer people | $100.1 billion | 16% |
| Medium community | 3,301–100,000 people | $273.1 billion | 44% |
| Large community | More than 100,000 people | $235.2 billion | 37% |
| Not-for-profit noncommunity | EPA category | $16.6 billion | 3% |
The state estimates illustrate geographic variation. Alabama’s reported 20-year drinking-water need was $12.178 billion, Arizona’s was $12.0487 billion, Colorado’s was $12.0678 billion, Florida’s was $26.7496 billion, and California’s was $83.5152 billion.
These are January 2021 dollar estimates for state drinking-water needs. System-size definitions are EPA’s categories, and the percentages may not sum exactly because of rounding and category presentation.
Source: Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment 7th Report to Congress.
Wastewater and Stormwater Infrastructure Statistics
The EPA’s 2022 Clean Watersheds Needs Survey estimated $630.1 billion in U.S. clean-water infrastructure needs for projects expected between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2041. The voluntary, non-statistical survey covers states, the District of Columbia, and territories; it excludes Tribal wastewater needs and EPA says the reported total likely underestimates nationwide need.
| 2022 CWNS category | Reported need | Share of total |
|---|---|---|
| Wastewater infrastructure | $345.7 billion | 55% |
| Stormwater management | $115.3 billion | 18% |
| Nonpoint-source control | $94.4 billion | 15% |
| Decentralized wastewater treatment | $74.7 billion | 12% |
Within wastewater categories, secondary treatment needs were $66.6 billion and advanced treatment needs were $83.6 billion. Conveyance-system repair needs were $110.1 billion, new conveyance-system needs were $41.0 billion, combined-sewer-overflow correction needs were $36.5 billion, water-reuse needs were $7.7 billion, and desalination needs were $0.2 billion.
The CWNS counted 17,544 publicly owned treatment works serving 270.4 million people in January 2022. That population represented 82% of the U.S. population in the CWNS treatment-trend data, and the measure concerns POTW service rather than all wastewater treatment.
Additional geographic measures show concentration in reported needs. About $33.0 billion of stormwater-management needs concerned nutrient reductions in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, while six states reported 55% of all nonpoint-source-control needs.
New York and California each reported more than $50 billion in total CWNS needs; Florida, Virginia, Louisiana, and Georgia each reported more than $25 billion.
Sources: 2022 Clean Watersheds Needs Survey Report to Congress and 2022 Clean Watersheds Needs Survey Fact Sheet.
Water Infrastructure Trends in Treatment and Future Capacity
EPA’s treatment trend data show a major increase in advanced treatment coverage. About 42% of the U.S. population was served by advanced wastewater treatment in 2022, up from less than 4% in 1972.
CWNS conveyance-system needs rose 27%, from $118.7 billion in the 2012 assessment to $151.1 billion in the 2022 assessment. The comparison is between reported needs, not completed work, and EPA attributes the change to multiple factors.
The 2022 survey also included future-looking projections:
- The number of facilities providing less-than-secondary treatment is projected to decline from 65 in 2022 to 58 over the next 20 years.
- The population served by facilities providing less-than-secondary treatment is projected to rise slightly from 3.8 million to 4.0 million between 2022 and 2042.
- CWNS projects 17,679 operational facilities serving 287.4 million people in 2042.
- The 2022 CWNS collected more than 30,000 infrastructure submissions during its March 1, 2022–May 3, 2023, data-entry period; submissions are a survey-process measure, not a count of unique facilities.
The future figures are forecasts from survey data, not measured future outcomes. EPA notes that future facility counts may be undercounted.
Sources: 2022 Clean Watersheds Needs Survey Report to Congress and 2022 Clean Watersheds Needs Survey Fact Sheet.
Lead Service-Line and Drinking-Water Infrastructure Statistics
The 7th DWINSA projected 9.2 million lead service lines nationally in the 2021 assessment. The total is a projection from sampled survey responses and assumptions about lines whose materials were unknown.
For small U.S. water systems, EPA estimated that 0.9% of service lines were lead, 0.9% were standalone galvanized, 61.3% were lead- and galvanized-free, and 36.9% had unknown materials in the supplemental service-line survey. Unknown and unreported materials limit certainty around the estimates.
EPA also presented an illustrative example-state calculation, which should not be treated as an actual state estimate. The example began with 5,415 lead service lines among known and projected categories, 135,525 unknown lines, and 34,224 unreported lines; its proportional-assumption method produced 9,078 additional projected lead lines and a final estimate of 14,493.
The same example estimated 271,000 total service lines across five material-status categories. These example figures explain the estimation method rather than describe a specific state’s verified inventory.
Source: Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment 7th Report to Congress.
State, Territory, and Tribal Water Infrastructure Needs
The 7th DWINSA estimated $4.1 billion in 20-year capital needs for American Indian and Alaska Native Village water systems. This was a traditional-infrastructure estimate and the first Tribal survey since the 5th DWINSA in 2011.
Selected state category estimates show how total needs can be distributed across network functions:
| Geography | Distribution and transmission | Treatment | Storage or source projects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $9,241.7 million | — | — |
| California | $55,742.3 million | $13,549.9 million treatment; $9,238.6 million storage | — |
| Florida | $17,615.2 million | $5,135.6 million treatment | $1,454.8 million source projects |
The table uses the categories and units reported by EPA; a dash means that no corresponding figure is included here, not that the category had zero need. California’s total state need was $83.5152 billion, while Florida’s was $26.7496 billion, both measured as projected 20-year needs in January 2021 dollars.
DWINSA figures are projected capital needs, not prices paid or evidence that every listed project will be funded. Percentages and rounded dollar totals may not sum exactly because of rounding and category presentation.
Source: Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment 7th Report to Congress.