Oakland, November 15, 2021
EBMUD attends signing of $1 trillion U.S. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021
EBMUD General Manager and the Director of Operations and Maintenance attend White House ceremony to support infrastructure and jobs bill
Representing utilities and the workers who build and maintain the infrastructure that treats and delivers water and wastewater, East Bay Municipal Utility District General Manager Clifford Chan and Director of Operations and Maintenance David Briggs attended a historic bill-signing ceremony at the White House on Monday, November 15, 2021.
General Manager Chan and Operations and Maintenance Director Briggs attended the event at the invitation of President Joe Biden, whose bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 is promoted as strengthening the country’s infrastructure for water, transportation and internet access and restoring the American middle class through job creation. Also in attendance were members of Congress who helped author the bill and other industry leaders. The bill also aims to address wildfire and forest health, cybersecurity, workforce development, and improve supply chains impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and fund clean energy.
“On behalf of EBMUD, I am honored to stand in support of the single largest investment in clean drinking water and wastewater infrastructure in American history,” said Chan. “This means more communities across the nation can feel confident in the clean water that comes from their tap. We want to thank President Biden, Vice President Harris, the lawmakers that supported this legislation, and the businesses and communities that recognized the importance of strengthening America’s infrastructure.”
The White House invitation follows an April 2021 visit from Vice President Harris, an Oakland native, who toured EBMUD’s Upper San Leandro Water Treatment Plant in support of the bill. Vice President Harris called EBMUD a model agency for safe drinking water access and the creation of good-paying union jobs that keep economies strong.
In today’s remarks, Vice President Harris highlighted the value of America’s infrastructure workforce including EBMUD Construction Inspector Walter Coty, who is helping provide clean drinking water in the East Bay. EBMUD is an advocate for infrastructure investments that support careers in construction, maintenance and operations, as well as small, local and traditionally disadvantaged businesses.
The California Urban Water Agencies estimates that every $1 billion of water-related infrastructure investment creates over 10,000 direct and indirect jobs in the local economy.
“Let’s get to work. It takes people to engineer, design, construct, maintain and operate the water and wastewater projects that that will directly benefit from this investment influx,” said Board President Doug Linney. “EBMUD is proud to have one of the best workforce training programs in California, and we are excited to get people working and building the systems that make high-quality water possible.”
EBMUD’s 2,000 employees maintain and improve the system of more than 4,200 miles of water pipelines, two reservoirs in the Sierra Foothills and five reservoirs in the East Bay, six water treatment plants, 164 neighborhood water storage tanks, and 135 pumping plants, 29 miles of sewer interceptors, 15 pumping plants, three wet weather facilities and the Main Wastewater Treatment Plant at the foot of the Bay Bridge. EBMUD is also working on more than 60 active capital projects throughout the service area, from treatment plant upgrades to pumping plant rehabilitations and more.
“We’re fortunate that our community has supported infrastructure investment, making EBMUD a reliable source for affordable, high-quality water and wastewater service for a century,” said President Linney. “The need to address aging infrastructure and climate change means we need to act aggressively as a nation, and this investment significantly moves the dial in the right direction.”
Caption: EBMUD General Manager Clifford Chan (left) and Operations and Maintenance Director David Briggs (right) attended the White House bill signing ceremony for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal in Washington, D.C.
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The East Bay Municipal Utility District has a proud history of providing high-quality drinking water for 1.4 million customers in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. EBMUD’s wastewater system serves 740,000 customers and helps protect the ecosystem of San Francisco Bay. EBMUD is a not-for-profit public agency established in 1923.
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