(23/P028) TRENTON – The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection today launched an interactive dashboard that provides regularly updated information to help local governments and the public track the progress of funding for much-needed drinking water and clean water infrastructure projects that are important to the health and economic vitality of the Garden State.
“New Jersey’s water infrastructure needs are great,” Commissioner of Environmental Protection Shawn M. LaTourette said. “The Murphy administration is committed to investing in projects that will create jobs while helping to protect the public from health threats such as lead and PFAS in drinking water, flooding caused by outdated stormwater infrastructure, and degraded rivers and streams caused by combined sewer overflows.
“This dashboard is an important part of the DEP’s efforts to raise public awareness about the state’s water infrastructure funding needs,” he added. “In a glance, the tool provides users with an easy way to follow the progress of funding for projects that will maintain, upgrade and modernize infrastructure that is critical for protection of public health and a cleaner environment.”
The New Jersey Water Infrastructure Spending Dashboard is an interactive data visualization tool that demonstrates the amount of funding that has been awarded for clean and drinking water projects for Fiscal Year 2023. Aggregate amounts and per-project award information are presented, showing how much funding has been awarded community by community.
“We are very pleased to hear about the NJDEP's new dashboard,” said Andrew Kricun, co-chair for Jersey Water Works, a collaboration of organizations working to improve New Jersey’s water infrastructure. “The dashboard will be an outstanding tool to help communities identify and navigate the various federal and state funding opportunities for water infrastructure improvements. This is a great step forward to ensure that all communities have safe drinking water and clean waterways at an affordable rate.”
The dashboard elements break down each project in terms of the expected long-term funding sources, including the projected New Jersey I-Bank share, total short-term loan award, and more. Aggregate information on projects that are expected to close on loans by the end of the fiscal year are included. The dashboard features an interactive map that provides snapshot information about funding for projects across New Jersey.
All data visualizations are interactive. Make sure to hover your cursor over the maps and graphics to see all available information. Please note, the data in this dashboard is updated monthly. The last data update took place on April 26, 2023.
In the coming weeks, Commissioner LaTourette, on behalf of the Murphy Administration, will be touring the state and meeting with local officials and stakeholders to announce various projects that will highlight the work the state and local government agencies are engaging in to address infrastructure needs.
He will visit communities that are constructing green infrastructure such as rain gardens to manage localized flooding, a major project to reduce stormwater inputs to combined sewer systems, and projects that will address water quality and flooding impacts to lake, streams and rivers.
In January 2022, the Murphy Administration launched the state’s $1 billion Water Infrastructure Investment Plan (WIIP), an innovative effort to address the state’s water infrastructure challenges through short and long-term investments that will create good-paying jobs while advancing the state’s environmental justice and climate resilience goals.
WIIP is fueled by federal funding from the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and relies on continuing state appropriations provided by the Murphy administration and the New Jersey Legislature.
In March, the DEP launched NJ-TAP (New Jersey Technical Assistance Program), a groundbreaking initiative providing enhanced technical assistance to help disadvantaged communities provide safe and reliable drinking water to residents.
NJ-TAP prioritizes aid to communities identified as disadvantaged or overburdened to identify lead service lines, develop asset management and capital improvement plans, and identify sources of state and federal funding to assist with important water-quality improvement projects, the Commissioner announced during a news conference in Harrison, Hudson County. This aid is being provided free of charge to participating water systems.
NJDEP Photo/Commissioner LaTourette (left) tours the Moorestown water treatment plant, upgraded to filter contaminants of emerging concern, May 2022.
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