US presidential hopeful proposes $250bn water act

US senator Kamala Harris – a frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination – has unveiled a broad proposal to invest $250 billion in water infrastructure.

The Water Justice Act would direct $170 billion to existing drinking water and wastewater federal funding programmes, with the balance earmarked for specific areas such as affordability, water recycling, and conservation.

The outline does not yet indicate details such as the period over which the funds would be disbursed, whether it is a one-time or recurring commitment, and how the $250 billion would be raised.

Water infrastructure is set to be a key campaign issue in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election – candidate Kirsten Gillibrand has proposed $400 billion in national safe drinking water funding over ten years, while Senator Bernie Sanders has supported increasing the corporate tax rate to create a new $35 billion trust fund for water infrastructure.