Stormwater has earned a “D” on the 2025 American Society of Civil Engineers Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, which is the same score it received in 2021.
Overall, America’s infrastructure received a “C,” its highest score ever.
Stormwater specifics
According to ASCE’s reporting, more than 60% of the country’s stormwater utilities have said that aging infrastructure poses a significant concern for their long-term needs.
As this was only stormwater’s second appearance on the report card, there is a lack of historical data for the sector. Carol Haddock, vice chair of the committee, said this does not allow a clear picture of the full funding needed for the sector.
Pat Lach, chair of Illinois’ ASCE Report Card, also spoke on stormwater during the media briefing and said many communities throughout the country have started to build asset management systems, which will help fill in data gaps for stormwater, but many more still need to implement similar systems.
“We need to understand what we have first, and that’s a key first step,” he said.
Haddock said one of the biggest recommendations for the stormwater sector is the creation of a nationwide database for stormwater assets, which can set a framework for collecting data while allowing for uniform comparison. “Stormwater infrastructure, much like transit networks, requires significant regional coordination,” she said.
Report card insights
Stormwater and transit tied for the lowest grade of “D” out of the 18 reported categories. Sixteen categories saw their grades increase or stay the same since the 2021 report, including stormwater, and ports reported the highest grade of “B.” For the first time since 1998, no category received a “D-.”
“While infrastructure is often out of sight out of mind, when there are deficiencies, we all feel the impact,” Darren Olson, chair of ASCE’s Committee on America’s Infrastructure, said in a media briefing.
As far as related water sectors go, drinking water received a “C-” and wastewater received a “D+.” These are the same scores they received in 2021.
According to the ASCE’s grading scale, when a category receives a grade in the “D” range, it means the infrastructure is in fair to poor condition and mostly below standard, while “a large portion of the system exhibits significant deterioration. Condition and capacity are of serious concern with strong risk of failure.”
There are eight criteria that ASCE looks at when determining grades. These include capacity, condition, funding, future needs, operation and maintenance, public safety, resilience and innovation.
Building momentum
With nearly half of the 18 categories increasing in grade, there is momentum to build on. ASCE is pointing to investments, such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), along with the Inflation Reduction Act, which was the largest climate investment in history, as key impacts.
However, there is still a funding gap of $3.7 trillion across all infrastructure sectors according to ASCE — stormwater and wastewater have a funding gap of $690 billion.
The organization has three recommendations to raise the infrastructure grade — sustained investment, prioritizing resilience and advancing policy and innovation. The need for these three was exemplified by 27 extreme weather events in 2024 that caused $182 billion in damages, including destruction of critical infrastructure. These three recommendations are in response to three key trends ASCE found — aging infrastructure, unreliable or unavailable data and the need for more sustained funding.
“There is still work to be done,” Olson said.
It can be hard for communities to finance, prioritize, and properly plan long-term solutions to stormwater management. There are often so many priorities in a community that it can be overwhelming to figure out where to begin. In the meantime, stormwater can continue to take a backseat compared to other issues a community may be tackling.
This collection of long-term stormwater planning resources applies to the integrated planning approach to stormwater assets, concepts, and resources. Planning for long-term stormwater management creates opportunities for communities to use stormwater as a resource, invest in reliable infrastructure, revitalize waterways, and introduce green space to make communities more enjoyable and welcoming.
Spencer-SHE has been providing Safety, Health, and Environmental Compliance Guidance since 1980. Our team can provide completion of state and federal environmental permit applications, stormwater sampling training, and establishment of protocols.
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Sources:
Photo: Microsoft Stock
https://www.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater-planning
https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-10/documents/sector_k_hazwaste.pdf