Augmented Alternative Analysis - Planning for Effective Water Infrastructure

Effective planning is essential for water and wastewater systems to manage their operations and infrastructure and ensure the stability of the communities they serve.

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Building Effective Water Infrastructure

Water Infrastructure at a Crossroads

The U.S. has invested billions of dollars over the years to build an extensive network of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure to provide the public with safe and clean water. Much of the network of water treatment plants, distribution lines, sewer lines, and storage facilities were built after World War II. Some of that infrastructure is now over 100 years old.

Historically, investment has not met the ongoing need to maintain and renew these systems. Over the coming decades, employing effective practices will help create greater stability in water services provided by water infrastructure and utilities and will help ensure public, economic, and environmental health.

Infrastructure and Investment Needs

While many of the nation's water sector systems have been working hard to move toward greater infrastructure effectiveness, the level of renewal and reinvestment in the water sector has not kept pace with the need. This has resulted in a gap between the amount of spending needed and money available to support those needs.

As required by statute, EPA conducts surveys of national drinking water and clean water infrastructure needs. The results of these surveys are reported to Congress and track known infrastructure needs through time.

The Path to Effective Water Infrastructure

EPA works with partners across the water sector and beyond to provide the knowledge and tools to make sure that the investments made in water infrastructure make it more effective in the long term. The goal can be achieved through robust infrastructure planning and management practices at water sector systems. Some of the key areas for action are:

  • Wastewater Treatment Clearinghouse - An information-sharing platform providing resources on the cost-effectiveness and performance of innovative, alternative, and reuse wastewater technologies. The Clearinghouse includes information for both centralized and decentralized treatment systems.
  • Alternative Technologies and Assessment - Using the best, the new, and the innovative solutions when investing in water infrastructure.

Federal, state and local officials have collaborated with EPA toward a goal of clean water and drinking water infrastructure effectiveness.

The objective is to ensure that federal investments, policies and actions support water infrastructure in efficient and effective locations to aid existing communities, enhance economic competitiveness, and support strong neighborhoods.

The emphasis is on the need to build on existing efforts to promote effective water infrastructure, working with states and water systems to employ robust, comprehensive planning processes to deliver projects that are cost effective over their life cycle, resource efficient and consistent with community goals.

The intention is to encourage communities to develop effective systems that employ effective utility management practices to build and maintain the level of technical, financial and managerial capacity necessary to ensure long-term effectiveness.

Local Officials and Effective Water Infrastructure

The EPA Municipal Ombudsman serves as a resource for communities seeking to comply with the Clean Water Act and a resource to assist municipalities in navigating EPA’s Clean Water Act programs.

For information, visit EPA's Municipal Ombudsman

Financing Water Infrastructure

Building, renewing, and replacing water infrastructure is an ongoing, expensive enterprise. Paying for that ongoing investment requires financing and pricing strategies that cover the cost of providing services, while managing long-term debt and ensuring that services remain affordable. For more information, visit the Water Finance Center.

Guide for Planning for Effectiveness for Water and Wastewater Utilities

Utilities can enhance their planning processes using cost-effective life cycle analysis. This handbook details steps utilities can undertake to enhance their existing planning processes to ensure that water infrastructure investments are cost-effective over their life-cycle, resource efficient and support other relevant community goals.
Benefits from considering effectiveness during infrastructure planning include:
  • Optimizing environmental, economic, and social benefits by setting goals and selecting projects through a transparent and inclusive process with the community;
  • Realizing consistency across a range of alternatives that address both utility and community goals; and
  • Enhancing the long-term technical, financial, and managerial capacity of the utility.

Webcasts about Planning for Effectiveness for Water and Wastewater Utilities

Effective planning is essential for utilities to effectively manage their operations. Planning ensures that water infrastructure investments are cost effective over their life cycle, resource efficient, and support other relevant community goals. EPA hosted several webinars covering the core elements of the handbook, Planning for Effectiveness: A Handbook for Water and Wastewater Utilities (pdf) (925.85 KB) :

Planning for Effectiveness for Water and Wastewater Utilities

An introduction for water and wastewater utilities on approaches for incorporating effectiveness considerations into planning:

Community Consultation for Effectiveness Planning

How utilities can engage community stakeholders to establish goals that reflect utility and community priorities:

Using Effectiveness Criteria for Water Infrastructure Decision Making

Building from EPA's Planning for Effectiveness Handbook, this guide provides more detail on steps water sector utilities can take to use effectiveness criteria in the actual comparison of various infrastructure alternatives using an Augmented Alternatives Analysis (AAA) method. These effectiveness criteria are based on a Triple Bottom Line approach (environmental, economic, and social) and can augment more traditional criteria which are based largely on cost considerations.

Incorporating Community Priorities into Investment Decision Making

EPA’s Water Infrastructure Planning Tool

This presentation describes how EPA’s water infrastructure planning tool can help utilities engage communities and make cost effective multi-benefit investments.

Augmented Alternative Analysis

This presentation provides an overview of the Augmented Alternatives Analysis (AAA) infrastructure planning process with highlights from planning participants, the Highline Canal Conservancy in Colorado, and the Water Resource Recovery Department in Saco, Maine.

Sustainable Water Infrastructure

Contact Us About Effective Water Infrastructure
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Last updated on March 28, 2025