Just Infrastructure
A blueprint for clean water and climate action and the goal of groups across the country working to bring billions of federal water dollars to the ground in neighborhoods and the wild spaces that sustain us.
This website is a celebration of Just Infrastructure projects taking root as federal water dollars flow, and a storytelling resource for those pushing for equitable spending and future funding.
The Four Pillars
of Just Infrastructure:
Community-driven
Justice-centered
Nature-based
Well-resourced
Investing in healthy communities and nature
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act together include more than $60 billion for water projects, including:
- replacing lead pipes in homes and schools
- restoring wetlands in flood zones, and
- delivering safe water and sanitation systems to communities that have been denied them through disinvestment.
This historic water spending has the potential to advance the human right to water while helping us weather heat, drought, fire and floods.
To meet this moment, we must: pair engineering and technology with nature-based projects, and prioritize areas that have historically been overlooked and underfunded.
From urban greening in New Orleans and Chicago to drought preparedness in the San Joaquin Valley and the Navajo Nation, federal funding and local organizing are laying the groundwork for a just and resilient water future.
Water investments at work
Infrastructure starts at the source: with headwaters forests, mountain meadows and wetlands that feed our rivers and reservoirs. It includes pipes, storm drains and gutters as well as green streets and gardens in our neighborhoods.
By valuing both natural and built infrastructure, we can multi-solve water challenges:
Living with
Weather Whiplash
We can work with nature to slow and spread runoff to reduce the risk of flooding, drought and wildfires.
Flood Justice
We can keep people safe from rising seas and stronger storms by investing in green infrastructure alongside traditional flood controls.
Human Right to Water
and Sanitation
We can close water and sanitation access gaps in Tribal, rural and low-income communities.
Water Infrastructure Spending by the Numbers
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law:
$34.7B
for flood preparedness
$15B
for lead pipe replacement
$10B
PFAS and other emerging contaminants
$8.3B
for drought resilience
Inflation Reduction Act:
$4B
for water in the West
$2.6B
for coastal resilience
$550M
for water systems in disadvantaged communities
