The lack of adequate water and waste disposal systems is a major infrastructure need of rural America and it is directly link to another pressing infrastructure need – substandard housing.
Most violations of federal drinking water standards are made by small communities with limited resources to dedicate to compliance. Small and rural drinking water systems constitute nearly 85 percent of the 53,000 community water systems in America. The 2013 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Drinking Needs Assessment indicated a national need of $64.5 billion for small community water systems.[1] This represents 17.4 percent of total national need. The lack of adequate water and waste water systems has a direct impact on the quality of housing. The American Community Survey found that almost 630,000 occupied households in the country lack complete plumbing facilities – meaning they do not have one of the following: a toilet, tub, shower or running water.
President Trump proposed to triple funding for EPA’s Safe Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs), which would make $6 billion available. However while approximately 96 percent of all health-based violations occur in systems serving a population of less than 10,000, less than a third of the SRF outlays are directed at these same small systems. Thus, this proposal would not meet the needs of America’s small towns.
The National Rural Housing Coalition has recommended that 20 percent of the new proposed level of funding for EPA’s SRFs be transferred to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for use in its water and waste disposal loan and grant program and Sections 504 and 533 repair programs. USDA’s Water and Sewer loan and grant financing program is a key component of economic development in rural America. The agency boasts a portfolio of more than 18,000 active water/sewer loans, more than 19 million rural residents served, and a delinquency rate of just 0.18 percent. USDA is better equipped to address rural community facilities needs than state SRFs.
With the USDA Section 504 Loan and Grant program and the Section 533 Housing Preservation Grant program, rural communities have been able to address substandard housing needs that stem from a lack of adequate plumbing. These programs can provide critical assistance to shore up this infrastructure. For example, with an expanded HPG grant of $400,000 and $370,000 in leveraged funds, Self-Help Enterprises in California provided basic health and safety improvements and drill on-site water wells for 23 families in the drought-ravaged San Joaquin Valley.
The bottom line is that the Administration and Congress should take a holistic approach to addressing America’s infrastructure needs, and include funding for housing and water/wastewater systems in any infrastructure package.
This article is the sixth in a blog series of the Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding that ties housing to infrastructure. To read the other blog posts, please click here.
[1] Defined as serving 3,300 and fewer persons.
Use NRHC’s Advocacy Tools to strengthen your advocacy efforts and make your voice heard on Capitol Hill. Learn how to build relationships with your Senators, Representatives, Local Media, and members of your community.
Toolkits
Making the Most of Congress’ Time At Home: In-District Advocacy. Learn how to best engage with your Senators and Representatives while they are at home in your district, whether by inviting them to visit your organization, meeting one-on-one, or partnering with other local organizations to host a Town Hall meeting.
Local and Social Media 101. Learn how to use social media to build and sustain strong relationships with your Senators and Representatives by using local media and social media. This toolkit provides important tips on pitching news stories to your local media, publishing an op-ed, and using social media.
Creating a Social Media Strategy 102. Learn how to create a social media strategy, regardless of your organization’s available resources. This toolkit was made possible through the generous support of Capital One.
Local and Social Media Webinar: Guest Speakers include Ayrianne Parks, Sarah Mickelson, and NRHC Member Bailey Richards from the Housing Development Alliance. This webinar was made possible through the generous support of Capital One. Listen to the webinar or download a copy of our PowerPoint presentation.
In an article published in the December 2016 issue ofSmithsonian Magazine, author Dale Maharidge chronicled the struggles that many of America’s working poor, including high poverty rates, housing affordability issues and food-scarcity. While just over 43 million people, or 13.5 percent of the population, live below the poverty line ($11,880) in the United States, over 31 percent – over 101 million – of Americans are considered “low-income,” meaning they make no more than $48,600 for a family of four or $23,760 for a single person. These families’ low-incomes means that affording safe housing is frequently an issue, particularly because of the ever-increasing cost of housing.
A portion of the article is dedicated to America’s farmworkers. Even though these people work long, back-breaking shifts, due in part to the seasonal nature of farming crops, these families often face great difficulty in affording basic necessities – like a safe place to call home and decent food – even while working full-time.
In California’s Central Valley, where Self-Help Enterprises, Inc. works, farms growing 250 different crops produce a fourth of the nation’s food. The article noted that since SHE was founded in 1965, it has helped family participants create over 6,200 homes in the region through the self-help housing program, which allows participants to use “sweat equity” in place of a down payment. By contributing at least 40 hours a week over the roughly one-year construction period, the families complete 65 percent of the labor in their homes with the help of their future neighbors.
On November 30, 2016, Bob Rapoza presented at the Housing Assistance Council 2016 Rural Housing Conference in Washington, D.C.. The National Rural Housing Coalition Plenary session included a discussion on what the results of the 2016 Presidential election mean for rural housing.
To view the presentation materials, please click here for the PowerPoint and here for the NRHC Transition Team paper.
National Rural Housing Coalition convenes leaders in Affordable Rental Housing to Discuss Ways to Stem Increasing Shortages in Rural America and Prepare Recommendations for LegislatorsUSDA Rural Housing experts, including Under Secretary Lisa Mensah, Administrator Tony Hernandez and Deputy Administrator David Lipsetz discuss USDA’s multifamily housing programs with moderator Eileen Fitzgerald, President and CEO of Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future.Washington, D.C.— On October 4-5, the National Rural Housing Coalition (NRHC) convened leaders from the rural housing community to evaluate and prepare recommendations that will ensure affordable rental housing options remain available to low- and very low-income residents. The purpose of the conference, which was sponsored by PNC Bank, was to gather feedback from the community and confer on data shared by staff from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Housing programs. Using this information, NRHC will release a detailed paper on the state of affordable rental housing in rural communities.
“While there were notable investments made several decades ago for the production and maintenance of affordable, rural rental housing, that federal commitment has not kept pace with the need in recent years,” said Bob Rapoza, executive secretary of NRHC. “This is significant because USDA’s current preservation efforts do not appear to be enough to sustain its rental housing portfolio, which is essential to providing clean, decent, and affordable housing for low-income residents in Rural America.”
USDA rental housing is frequently the only affordable rental housing available in rural communities. The average income for tenants is $12,729 annually, many (around 44 percent) are elderly or persons with disabilities and 70.9 percent are female headed households. USDA estimates that $5.596 billion in additional funding is needed over the next 20 years to preserve USDA’s rental housing portfolio. Renovation of these developments is particularly important because USDA no longer provides loans for the financing of new rental housing developments in rural America.
Larry Anderson, Vice President of Rural Housing Preservation Associates, and Richard Price, a Partner at NixonPeabody, discuss the current rural rental housing stock with moderator Tom Collishaw, President and CEO of Self-Help Enterprises.
In addition, there is a rising tide of USDA mortgages coming to the end of their terms. When a USDA mortgage ends—whether it is due to prepayment or mortgage maturity—the property loses rental assistance eligibility, which provides a deep subsidy to very low income households. As a result, an increasing number of very low-income households left with few or no alternatives for affordable, decent housing options.
While the need for renovation and refinancing of the USDA multifamily housing portfolio is great, several organizations have taken advantage of opportunities to acquire, improve the quality of and maintain the affordability of these properties. By working with USDA and state housing finance agencies, as well as combining multiple sources of public and private funds, housing advocates like Greystone Affordable Housing Initiatives and the Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership have succeeded in preserving USDA’s rural rental homes. NRHC will work with USDA and members of Congress to promote these successful preservation strategies and identify obstacles to success to ensure that affordable rental housing in rural communities is preserved.
“Congress and various Administrations have underfunded efforts to preserve the physical and financial condition of USDA’s investment. As a result, none of the properties in USDA’s portfolio have the capital needed to meet long-term operational costs,” said Rapoza. “NRHC will continue to advocate for the funding and policies necessary to meet the affordable housing needs or rural people and families.”
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Rick Goodemann, Executive Director of Minnesota Housing Partnership, a NRHC Member, explains the approach his organization has used to address the need for preserving rental housing in rural communities.About Section 515 Rural Rental Housing Loans
For over 50 years, Section 515 loans have been used to improve the quality of affordable rental housing for low-income families in rural America. Today, nearly 400,000 rural families live in housing financed with low-cost Section 515 loans.
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This press release was published on PR Newswire on October 6, 2016 and can be found here.
To view the PowerPoint presentation from conference, please click here.
The U.S. Census Bureau’s annual report on poverty and income in America was released on September 13, 2016.
The findings of this report have been highlighted by many sources as an example of the economic growth experienced in many communities in recent years, noting that the median household income increased 5.2 percent from 2014 to 2015, the fastest increase on record. For example, the White House Blog stated that the “report from the Census Bureau shows the remarkable progress that American families have made as the recovery continues to strengthen. . . . Income grew for households across the income distribution, with the fastest growth among lower- and middle-income households.”
While statements like this are certainly supported by the findings of the Census report, they do not provide a complete picture as to where this growth has occurred and the economic state of communities all around the country. Specifically, within metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), income levels rose six percent (7.3 percent for city dwellers, 4 percent for suburban and exurban residents). Alternatively, the income levels for rural communities (including micropolitan statistical areas and areas outside of MSAs and micropolitan areas) declined by 2 percent.
A 2015 CAP report, “The Uneven Housing Recovery,” found that while many Americans have recovered from the economic recession, those that have not primarily reside in rural and nonmetropolitan areas. The improved economies in metropolitan areas is related to growing populations and strengthening labor markets, which have aided these areas’ recovery from the recession.
Differentiated from metropolitan counties, small rural communities, which have not experienced the same level of recovery, have seen shrinking populations. In fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service (ERS) found that between 2010 and 2015 the population of rural communities dropped 33,000 per year from 2010-2014 and 4,000 in 2015. Comparatively, between 2010 and 2014, the urban population increased by more thantwo million people each year.
Decreasing populations in rural communities present unique challenges, and are a further issue impeding economic growth for these areas. For example, the Census report found that poverty rates overall declined 1.2 percent from 14.8 percent in 2014 to 13.5 percent in 2015. As with the Census report’s findings on income, declining poverty overall does not mean poverty has not increased in certain communities.
From 2014 to 2015, the actual number of rural Americans living in poverty declined from around 8.2 million to 7.4 million. However, the decline in the number of people living in rural poverty was primarily due to out-migration – not improved economic conditions. Thus, for this same time period, the Census report found that the poverty rate for rural areas actually increased, albeit slightly (+0.2). The point is there was not any progress in reducing economic distress in rural areas.
The 2015 CAP report looked at the difference levels of recovery experienced by counties across the country. The report found that most “struggling” counties are located in nonmetropolitan and rural areas. These counties are characterized in the report as, at best, “stagnant” and more often “slipping” or sinking.”
Since 2009, slipping counties have experienced slow population growth and declining labor participation, and nearly 18 percent of the population in these areas live in poverty. While homeownership is prevalent and renting is less common in slipping counties, the percentage of households who are cost-burdened, meaning they pay more than 30 percent of their income on housing, is much higher for renters than homeowners. Additionally, as housing prices have increased (from about 11 percent in 2011 to 11.5 percent in 2014, so too have vacancy rates, which were at percent in 2014.
Sinking counties have fared the worst in terms of recovery from the economic recession. In addition to higher unemployment rates than other counties, the labor force has declined since 2009 and since 2013, job growth has stalled. New construction of housing has been declining since 2012, and vacancy rates between 2010 and 2014 remained stagnant.
The Census report shows that many communities’ across the country are recovering from the economic recession. However, a closer look at the Census report, as well as other recent research on poverty, homeownership and employment demonstrates that this recovery is not spread equally with rural communities. As the discussion on economic growth and recovery continues, policy makers should ensure that the need of rural Americans is not left out of the conversation.
Use NRHC’s Advocacy Tools to strengthen your advocacy efforts and make your voice heard on Capitol Hill. Learn how to build relationships with your Senators, Representatives, Local Media, and members of your community.
