Augmented Alternative Analysis - Planning for Sustainable Water Infrastructure

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

• Building Sustainable Water Infrastructure
• Guide for Planning for Sustainability for Water and Wastewater Utilities
• Webcasts about Planning for Sustainability for Water and Wastewater Utilities
• Using Sustainability Criteria for Water Infrastructure Decision Making
• Incorporating Community Priorities into Investment Decision Making

Building Sustainable 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 been enough to meet the ongoing need to maintain and renew these systems. Over the coming decades, this pattern of underinvestment needs to change and practices put in place to sustain the water services provided by water infrastructure and utilities. Doing so is vital to 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 sustainability, 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.

• Clean Watersheds Needs Survey
• Drinking Water Needs Survey and Assessment

The Path to Sustainable 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 sustainable in the long term. The goal can be achieved through strong 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.

Policy on Water Infrastructure Sustainability

EPA’s Clean Water and Drinking Water Infrastructure Sustainability Policy promotes sustainable infrastructure within the water sector. Federal, state and local officials collaborated with EPA to develop the policy.

The policy’s objective is to ensure that federal investments, policies and actions support water infrastructure in efficient and sustainable locations to aid existing communities, enhance economic competitiveness and promote affordable neighborhoods.

The policy emphasizes the need to build on existing efforts to promote sustainable 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 sustainability goals.

The policy encourages communities to develop sustainable systems that employ effective utility management practices to build and maintain the level of technical, financial and managerial capacity necessary to ensure long-term sustainability.

• Clean Water and Drinking Water Infrastructure Sustainability Policy (pdf) (116.61 KB)
• Frequent Questions about Sustainability Policy (pdf) (168.9 KB)

Local Officials and Sustainable 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 Infrastructure and Resiliency Finance Center.

Guide for Planning for Sustainability for Water and Wastewater Utilities

• Planning for Sustainability: A Handbook for Water and Wastewater Utilities (pdf) (925.85 KB)

• 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 Sustainability for Water and Wastewater Utilities

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

Planning for Sustainability for Water and Wastewater Utilities

• Overview of Planning for Sustainability for Water and Wastewater Utilities Presentation (pdf) (1.66 MB)
• Integrating Sustainability Principles into Solids Management Planning Presentation (pdf) (904.92 KB)
• Planning for Optimal Utility Performance in a Sustainable, Cost Effective, Manner Presentation (pdf) (685.38 KB)

Community Consultation for Sustainability Planning

• Planning for Sustainability for Water and Wastewater Utilities: Introduction to Community Consultation for Sustainability Planning (pdf) (1.41 MB)
• Community Consultation for Sustainability Planning Case Study: Lenexa, Kansas Presentation (pdf) (4.95 MB)

Using Sustainability Criteria for Water Infrastructure Decision Making

Building from EPA's Planning for Sustainability Handbook, this guide provides more detail on steps water sector utilities can take to use sustainability criteria in the actual comparison of various infrastructure alternatives using an Augmented Alternatives Analysis (AAA) method. These sustainability 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.

• Making the Right Choices for Your Utility: Using Sustainability Criteria for Water Infrastructure Decision Making (pdf) (2.59 MB)
• Companion Worksheets: These worksheets will help you take each step in the Augmented Alternatives Analysis infrastructure planning process. The worksheets collate your step-by-step input to help you derive the best choice for your utility. They should be used with the Making the Right Choices for Your Utility planning guide for maximum benefit. 
  • AAA Worksheets (pdf) (2.9 MB)
  • AAA Excel Worksheets (xlsx) (1.9 MB)
• Case Studies: EPA undertook three pilot projects working with different organizations and their communities and stakeholders. Using an augmented alternatives analysis approach, each project used sustainability criteria to compare infrastructure alternatives based on the triple bottom line approach of environmental, economic, and social criteria. The Camden County Municipal Utility Authority worked to identify an optimal and cost-effective mix of green and gray infrastructure to support its Combined Sewer Long-Term Control Plan. The High Line Canal Conservancy worked with 11 water jurisdictions to address stormwater issues and enhance recreational opportunities along the 71-mile-long High Line Canal. The Saco, Maine, Water Resource Recovery Department (WRRD) focused on long-term planning to improve resilience to extreme weather events, high tides, periods of high precipitation, and storm surges. These case studies demonstrate how organizations in very different contexts applied the AAA process to reach their goals.
  • Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority: A Wet Weather Case Study of Incorporating Community Interests into Effective Infrastructure Decision-Making (pdf) (1.31 MB)
  • High Line Canal Conservancy and Saco WRRD (pdf) (2.8 MB)

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.

• EPA's Water Infrastructure Planning Tool (pdf) (5.32 MB)

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.