New Deal Utility Plants

(Lake Ashburton Pumping Station. Photo by Brent McKee.)

During the 1930s & 40s, New Deal policymakers invested a great deal of time and money into America's infrastructure. For example, the Public Works Administration funded many utility plants, like the Lake Ashburton Pumping Station shown above. This pumping station has been providing drinking water to Baltimore-area residents for three-quarters of a century. Meanwhile, WPA laborers also contributed to upgrading America's energy and water systems by, among other things, working on over 4,000 utility plant projects across the U.S. (new constructions and improvements to existing facilities).

We would be wise to emulate New Deal policies on infrastructure, especially since the American Society of Civil Engineers recently issued a "D" letter grade to our water lines, a "D+" to our energy infrastructure, and a "D" to our wastewater systems. (See "2013 Report Card for America's Infrastructure").