A Cost Effective Approach to Increasing Investment in Water Infrastructure: The Water Infrastructure and Financing Innovation Authority

To lower the cost of?capital to finance water infrastructure projects, AWWA, the Water Environment Federation and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies are urging Congress to pass legislation to create a Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Authority, know as WIFIA. It is modeled after the successful Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, commonly called TIFIA. Such a mechanism could lower the cost of capital for water utilities while having little or no long-term effect on the federal budget.