September 10, 2014 (BALTIMORE, MD) — Clean, safe drinking water supports life, and it supports economic development. Properly treating and disposing of wastewater does more than protect the environment; it protects jobs.

A new report released this week by the Water Research Federation and the Water Environment Research Federation pegs the combined economic impact from the 30 largest American water utilities at $524 billion over the next 10 years, annually supporting 289,000 jobs. The report is part of a month-long focus in the water and wastewater industry on the nation’s need to invest in utility infrastructure.

The economic impact from the water and wastewater operations of the Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) – one of the nation's largest water utilities – is $12.6 billion over the next 10 years. It sustains 7,640 jobs, according to the industry federations.

"Our customers expect that their hard-earned money will be invested wisely," said Rudolph S. Chow, P.E., director of the Baltimore City DPW. "This report by the Water Research and Water Environment Research federations backs up what we've long known about the positive impact we are having on the economic well-being of our City and region."

The report determines 3,570 jobs created directly by the DPW's water and wastewater operations. Another 4,070 jobs are indirectly created or induced by the operations, when employees or the utility spends money.

“Jobs in the water and wastewater industries can’t be outsourced; this is local work done by people living and working right in our communities,” said Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, co-chair of the Water Council of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. “These jobs offer competitive salaries as well as opportunities for training and advancement. Simply put: when water works, America works.”

The report comes as mayors, federal lawmakers, and representatives from other industry organizations gather in Washington, D.C., to promote investment in water and wastewater infrastructure. Director Chow is among those who will participate today in a White House roundtable on the industry, and Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin is a speaker at a news conference this morning on the need to invest federal dollars in water and wastewater development.

Failing to invest in water utility infrastructure does more than jeopardize a city’s jobs and economic growth, it can affect health and safety. Most of the pipes, plants and operating systems were built generations ago and now need to be updated. In 2013, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the country’s drinking water and wastewater systems an average grade of D.

Baltimore, like other American cities, is planning to spend billions of dollars repairing or replacing large portions of a system built largely 80 or more years ago. In fact, the City’s Montebello I Water Treatment Plant begins its 100th year of service this month, as engineers work to make the water treatment system more reliable.

While the U.S. Conference of Mayors estimates that $4.8 trillion needs to be spent on water infrastructure over the next 20 years, fully 98 percent of the money for those improvements currently comes directly from the water providers and their customers. Federal investment has decreased by more than one-third since from its peak in 1975.

More information is available on the CleanWaterBaltimore.org website. Please also view the Water Utility Analysis document linked at the bottom of this release.