There are several reasons why it is important to have an accurate, up-to-date estimate of the municipal infrastructure deficit:
• The municipal infrastructure deficit compromises our safety, economy and quality of life. The first step in finding a solution is to develop an accurate idea of the size and nature of the challenge before us.
• Eliminating the municipal infrastructure deficit will require significant, long-term investments. To account for those investments, and measure our progress toward eliminating the deficit, we need to know clearly where the deficit stands today and how it is growing.
• To make the most effective and efficient use of public dollars, we need to understand how much money needs to be spent and where investments are needed most. What should be the balance between investments in existing infrastructure on one hand, and new construction on the other? What is driving growth in the deficit, and what can we do to manage those factors in the future?
A comprehensive, national inventory of infrastructure assets is required to properly determine the size, scale and geographic character of the municipal infrastructure deficit. However, until such a project is undertaken, there remains a pressing need to track the deficit as accurately as possible using available methods. This is especially important given a growing body of evidence that the municipal infrastructure deficit is reaching crisis proportions. If this is the case, and we do not act prudently, the economic, social, and environmental costs of the deficit will grow at a rapidly increasing rate.