Rural Water and Economic Development

Water issues are coming up on our radar screen in some of the rural economic development strategic planning efforts we are working. Those of you wrestling with these issues may find a recent USDA article on rural water to beof interest.

Rural areas and small towns can derive significant economic benefits from building new water and wastewater plants that assure an adequate supply of clean water. A study of grants from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA) to local development projects found that investment in water and sewer facilities paid large economic dividends to the grant recipients, generally communities in economic distress.

A recent USDA Economic Research Service analysis of data from the EDA study shows that rural communities derived sizeable economic benefits from water and sewer projects, including an increase in available jobs, more private investments, and a rise in property tax bases.

See the article, Economic Impact of Water/Sewer Facilities in Rural and Urban Communities, for more information.