Aging infrastructure and underinvestment have left many cities' water systems in tatters. Now flooding and other climate shocks are pushing them to failure.
The infrastructure law pledged some $50 billion for climate resilience — a lifeline for communities whose water systems were threatened by climate shocks. The money amounts to a political wager by Democrats that government spending can address decades of underinvestment and neglect that has fallen disproportionately on poor, minority-populated places like Jackson. But the new law also reveals what experts describe as a weakness in how the federal government allocates such money. To be considered for grants, a city must be able to pay for specialized staff members who can assemble a competitive application. This poses a challenge for many smaller, poorer cities,…
Christopher Flavelle, Rick Rojas, Jim Tankersley, Jack Healy