Water Supply and Sewage Treatment NAICS 221310, 221320

May 23, 2025 - EPA Moves to Extend Compliance Deadlines for PFAS in Drinking Water

• In mid-May, the EPA announced that it will maintain the current National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWR) that set national limits for allowable levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) in drinking water. PFOA and PFOS are part of a larger group of chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which can cause adverse health effects, according to the EPA. On April 10, 2024, the EPA announced a final ruling for the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations, which set standards for PFOA and PFOS. That ruling also gave public water systems until 2029 to comply with maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for PFAS. In May 2025, the EPA said it would develop a rulemaking plan for extending the PFAS deadline to 2031 to give water system operators more time to comply.
• The state of US water infrastructure received a grade of C-, according to a recent report card issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) that rates 18 infrastructure categories. In a 2023 estimate, the EPA said the US will need to spend $625 billion over the next two decades to improve drinking water infrastructure. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 included more than $30 billion for investments in drinking water system improvement. However, water utilities continue to struggle with aging infrastructure, emerging contaminants, and the intensifying effects of severe weather. Some drinking water utilities have implemented failure prediction technologies to anticipate failures before they occur. However, less than a third of utilities have a fully functioning asset management plan, and fewer than half are in the process of implementing one.

• North American construction and engineering spending for water and wastewater projects is expected to rise for the next several years, according to FMI’s second-quarter 2025 North American Engineering and Construction Outlook. Water supply project spending is expected to rise by 8% in 2025 amid necessary investments in water infrastructure. The EPA estimates replacing lead pipes will cost between $50 billion and $80 billion. Water supply spending growth is expected to moderate to 5% in 2026 and 2% in 2027 and 2028, then rise 4% in 2029. Sewage and waste disposal construction and engineering spending is projected to increase by 6% in 2025. Key focus areas include hardening infrastructure in the face of severe weather events such as flash floods and hurricanes. In 2024, the EPA’s Clean Watersheds Needs Survey estimated a funding gap of $630 billion over the next 20 years. Sewage and waste disposal project spending is forecast to grow 4% in 2026, 1% in 2027, 3% in 2028, and 4% in 2029.
• In March 2025, the EPA announced that it would work with the Army Corps of Engineers to review the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) to reduce red tape, simplify compliance, and reduce costs. The revision of WOTUS will be informed by the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, which ruled that the Clean Water Act’s definition of “waters” only include relatively permanent, standing or continuously flowing bodies of water forming streams, oceans, rivers, and lakes. The Trump administration EPA believes the current WOTUS definition is too broad and places an undue burden on farmers, landowners, and businesses by requiring costly permits before starting projects.