The North Carolina Division of Water Infrastructure provides funding to North Carolina local government units for water, wastewater, and stormwater projects. In 2021, the US Congress appropriated additional funds to states via the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), for five fiscal years (FY 2022 – FY 2026). In addition to providing a short-term influx of additional funding for infrastructure projects, BIL also extended limits on principal forgiveness for eligible applicants. In short, considerable funding is currently available for water, wastewater, and stormwater projects, but the funds are time-limited. Many utilities may be considering improving or expanding their infrastructure to capitalize on the current availability of funds; however, there are long-term implications of investing in new infrastructure that should be considered. This resource aims to point utilities to resources for self-assessment of their own sustainability and help utilities understand the long-term implications of accessing grant funds for infrastructure by walking through a (fictitious) example from Waterville, USA.
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