Investment in Infrastructure has Economic Returns and More

On Thursday, August 15, 2013 I went on the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority Advisory Board Annual Field Trip which included a tour of Boston Harbor hosted by staff from the MWRA and Boston Redevelopment Authority.   The boat tour included 157 local officials, residents, and consultants from MWRA’s 60 member communities.

The boat traveled from Deer Island to the Zakim Bridge where it began its return trip.  The program speakers began by emphasizing that the money spent to cleanup Boston Harbor and transform it back to a recreation and natural resource is directly responsible for the economic investment and development that followed.  For two hours BRA staff updated us on the economic development initiatives realized along Boston’s waterfront.   Among them are Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, new high end condominiums, improvements to the harbor islands, and development in the Seaport District. 

BRA speakers noted that sea levels are rising and that ongoing development along the waterfront will need to adapt to climate change impacts.  BRA is currently collecting data from a climate change survey and is contemplating regulations for new development. 

I learned that developers along the waterfront are already taking into consideration rising sea levels and the increase in storm intensity.  The new Spaulding Rehab hospital includes windows that can open.   This is the result of lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina.  When hospitals and other emergency facilities in New Orleans lost power, the lack of ventilation and windows that did not open created oppressive work conditions.

On the boat, representatives from the MWRA recognized the efforts of fellow passengers former Governor Michal Dukakis and Federal District Court Judge Richard Stearns.  Governor Dukakis’s administration worked with the court, legislators, stakeholders, and residents to develop and implement the Boston Harbor Cleanup program.  This resulted in the creation of the MWRA and the design, construction, and operation of the Deer Island wastewater treatment plant. 

The plant is a state of the art facility that serves as a technical resource for engineers and governments from around the world looking for local solutions for water quality issues and wastewater management.   In the past two years I have organized and participated in Deer Island plant tours for delegates from Pakistan and the Philippines.  The Philippine delegation included the judge and local officials from Manila, where the judge had recently issued an order for the cleanup of Manila Bay, similar to the court actions that initiated the cleanup of Boston Harbor.

Infrastructure investment supports local and regional economies.  State Representative Carolyn Dykema and State Senator James Eldridge of the Massachusetts Water Infrastructure Finance Commission noted that the Commission identified funding gaps for water and wastewater of over $20 billion.   They are proposing legislation that would commit to funding loans and grants to support water and wastewater projects throughout the Commonwealth.  These projects would improve water quality, include innovative ideas, generate economic development, and encourage a greater use of the Commonwealth’s waters.

The cleanup of Boston Harbor is an example to the world of how investments in water and wastewater infrastructure result in economic, environmental, health, and recreational returns.  It’s the right thing to do.