For too long, America’s water infrastructure has not received the attention that was prudent. Perhaps that is because, although it is one of America’s most essential public assets, this type of infrastructure isn’t surface level. The country’s water and wastewater network lies buried underground, out of sight and often out of mind until a water main breaks, a treatment facility fails, or contamination threatens public health. Today, however, local governments across the country are confronting a reality that can no longer be ignored: a significant portion of America’s water infrastructure has reached or exceeded its intended lifespan.
The scope of the America’s water challenge is staggering. According to the U.S. Environment Protection Agency’s (EPA) most recent Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey, public water systems nationwide will require more than $625 billion in investments over the next 20 years to maintain safe and reliable drinking water service. Nearly $423 billion of that need is tied specifically to replacing or rehabilitating aging water transmission and distribution pipelines. At the same time, thousands of communities continue to address aging lead service lines, deteriorating treatment facilities, water loss issues, and increasingly severe weather-related vulnerabilities.
The American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2025 Infrastructure Report Card reinforces the urgency. America’s drinking water infrastructure received a grade of C-, while wastewater systems earned a D+. Engineers note that many of the nation’s water pipes were installed generations ago, and approximately 240,000 water main breaks occur annually. More than 450,000 miles of water mains have exceeded their useful life and await replacement.
Against that backdrop, a growing number of cities, counties, utilities, and regional authorities are preparing major water infrastructure projects that will move from planning to procurement and construction in 2026 and beyond. The following initiatives represent only a small sample of what is becoming one of the nation’s most significant public infrastructure investment trends.
Officials at Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management will soon launch a long-term water infrastructure project to modernize the city’s aging distribution and transmission system. The work, which will be phased over many years, carries an estimated cost of approximately $2 billion.
The project is being designed to improve reliability, reduce water loss, and strengthen service for a system that spans more than 2,800 miles and serves about 1.2 million people.
Project efforts will call for replacement and rehabilitation of aging water mains, transmission lines, and related drinking water infrastructure across the city. Other project components will include systemwide field assessments, diagnostic work, leak detection, pipe inventory analysis, project prioritization, program management, design guidance, and more. This work is tied to the city’s broader capital improvement program designed to sustain and modernize water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure.
The project is currently in early program development and preconstruction planning. A formal construction start date has not been published, but the first construction work is slated to begin in early 2027.
Officials at Detroit, Michigan’s Water and Sewerage Department will oversee a $40 million project to replace two utility lines. Each replacement carries a cost estimate of $20 million. The work will include replacement and rehabilitation of aging water distribution infrastructure that has become susceptible to breaks, leaks, pressure loss, and service disruptions. This initiative is part of the city’s long-term asset management program to modernize its water system, improve service reliability, reduce water loss, and address public health concerns by upgrading drinking water resources.
Additional project components will include installing distribution mains designed to strengthen system hydraulics and fire flow capacity, replacing fire hydrants, and upgrading valves. Currently, the project is in the final design stage, and construction procurement is scheduled for late 2026.
A major wastewater utility infrastructure upgrade is being planned in San Diego, where the city has budgeted $134.4 million for a dual force main replacement project. The project is part of a long-range capital improvement program that will improve reliability within the wastewater collection system serving the Rancho Bernardo area.
Project components will include the installation of two new 20-inch force mains extending from Sewer Pump Station No. 77A to the Hale Avenue Resource Recovery Facility. The new pipelines will provide critical system redundancy, reduce the risk of service disruptions, and improve resilience for a key segment of the city’s wastewater network. The overall objective is to modernize aging infrastructure and ensure the continued conveyance of wastewater to the treatment facility.
The project is currently in the planning phase, and because of the size of the effort, design work may continue for two or three more years. Construction could be delayed until 2030.
City officials in Birmingham, Alabama, have initiated a long-term infrastructure effort to identify and replace all known lead service lines throughout the city’s water distribution system. That system covers more than 750 square miles. The project carries a $56 million cost estimate and is designed to improve water quality, protect public health, and comply with current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency water safety standards.
Funding for the initiative includes $56 million in federal revenue bonds dedicated to replacing corroded copper and lead water lines, along with additional financing from the state’s Drinking Water Revolving Fund. Currently, work is ongoing to verify the location and status of lead service lines across the system. That effort is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, and construction procurement is planned for early 2027.
Officials with the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority have announced a project designed to provide a sustainable drinking water supply to communities that currently rely on the aging Ogallala Aquifer. The work will be funded by a $77 million federal award from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
The project will include several key components, including approximately 16.3 miles of raw-water transmission pipeline, upgrades to intake and pump station facilities, and refurbishment of storage tanks. Procurement is expected in the fall of 2026, and the overall effort will be delivered in phases.
These projects differ in size, geography, and purpose, but collectively they illustrate a national shift toward long-overdue investment in critical water infrastructure. Some focus on replacing deteriorating pipes, others on eliminating lead service lines, improving wastewater reliability, conserving water resources, or securing future water supplies. However, they provide a glimpse of how government officials are increasingly treating water infrastructure not as a deferred maintenance issue, but as a public health and resilience priority.
The trend is likely to accelerate. Federal funding programs established through recent infrastructure legislation have helped communities move long-discussed projects into active planning. Yet, even with unprecedented funding support, experts caution that current investments cover only a fraction of America’s needs. Utilities across the country continue to face rising construction costs, regulatory requirements, climate-related challenges, and decades of deferred maintenance.
The projects currently moving toward procurement represent more than isolated upgrades. They are part of a nationwide effort to rebuild the systems that deliver safe drinking water, protect public health, support economic growth, and sustain communities for future generations. After decades of underinvestment, America’s water infrastructure is one of the country’s most urgent and consequential infrastructure priorities.
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