Hurricane-Damaged Drinking Water and Wastewater Facilities: Impacts, Needs, and Response

Publication Date: December 2006

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

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Research Area: Environment

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Abstract:

Throughout the Gulf Coast region, high winds and water from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 damaged a wide range of public service facilities, including drinking water supply and treatment and sewage treatment plants. Restoring those facilities is part of the overall cleanup and restoration process. This report describes impacts of the storms on drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities and efforts to assess damages and needs to repair and reconstruct damaged systems. Full facility restorations in some locations may take many months, and costs of needed repairs are largely unknown. To meet those long-term recovery needs, affected communities are likely to rely heavily on federal assistance in emergency appropriations acts, as well as traditional water infrastructure programs, principally those administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In September 2005, the Senate passed a bill intended to streamline delivery of funds through existing EPA programs to repair storm-damaged sewage treatment and drinking water plants (S. 1709). Also, legislation was introduced to provide hurricane assistance to Louisiana, including $5 billion for water infrastructure projects (S. 1765/S. 1766, H.R. 3958). No further action occurred on any of these proposals during the 109th Congress.