US legislative update

Abstract

In the United States, the federal role in water infrastructure finance has become a perennial issue for the water sector and Congress. The nation's need to reinvest in its water infrastructure-as documented in AWWA's Buried No Longer report (AWWA 2012)-compounded by increasingly complex regulatory and public health challenges and further compounded by tighter budgets for municipalities, states, and individuals, makes it increasingly important to keep down the costs of that reinvestment. WIFIA, the SRFs, and access to tax-exempt municipal bonds are critical to keeping down the cost of infrastructure investment. Naturally, AWWA and other water organizations are investing resources to protect and enhance these tools. Congress has become more and more aware of the need to invest in water infrastructure as well, and this has in some cases led to a second look at how the SDWA is performing overall. Consequently, AWWA's Water Utility Council and AWWA's membership will focus on these arenas for some time to come. In addition, conservation programs in the Farm Bill offer opportunities to prevent or reduce contaminants entering sources of drinking water and opportunities to work cooperatively with upstream stakeholders. Moving forward, infrastructure finance, the performance of the SDWA, and protection of source waters through the Farm Bill are key areas that water providers in the United States will continue to try to influence.