NC S1293

Adds "asset management plan" to the definition of terms in water infrastructure law, defined as strategic management practices to minimize costs while maximizing efficiency and reliability of local government infrastructure assets.

Establishes new funding priority criteria for water and wastewater loans and grants, including asset management planning, regionalization, state water supply planning, and drought management measures.

Clarifies that leaking waterlines receive priority for both water quality and water quantity purposes, with the repair or replacement aimed at preventing contamination and improving water conservation.

Creates a sliding scale system for high-unit-cost projects, providing priority based on the amount by which a project exceeds the high-unit-cost threshold.

Allows projects that demonstrate regionalization is not practicable due to topography or other factors to receive the same priority as projects that include regionalization.