Bowditch: New housing requires upgrades to water infrastructure
Housing affordability remains a persistent challenge for the commonwealth. The state’s 2025 “Unlocking Housing Production” report finds that employers cite the housing shortage as a key obstacle in attracting and retaining talent. Recent college graduates and young adults starting families face daunting costs in obtaining affordable apartments and reasonably priced starter homes.
The state has set the goal of creating 222,000 new housing units by 2035. A little-discussed obstacle to new housing construction is the problem of water infrastructure. To facilitate housing expansion, the report states: “The ideal location to build housing is in areas with existing sewer and water infrastructure and capacity as it is significantly more cost effective and has better environmental outcomes than production in locations that require building new infrastructure.”
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