Water Sector News

(October 16, 2018) – Last week, the Senate passed the 2018 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), S.3021, by a vote of 99-1.  The bill, entitled America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018, previously passed the House by a unanimous vote and now awaits President Trump’s signature to become law.

NACWA has been working with both the House and Senate for over the past year to secure inclusion of several bipartisan provisions in the bill that are important to the municipal clean water sector.  NACWA commends Congress for its strong bipartisan effort and collaboration with NACWA and the entire water sector throughout the WRDA process.  The Association published an Advocacy Alert last week to provide greater detail and analysis of the bill.   

Beyond WRDA, NACWA and its members’ advocacy continue to help lay groundwork for further Congressional action on clean water priorities. Several other pieces of legislation impacting the sector have been introduced in recent weeks as Members start looking toward opportunities next Congress. Most notably, these include a bipartisan bill to establish a 5-year pilot program for providing federal assistance to low-income water and wastewater ratepayers. NACWA worked closely with the Congressional sponsors of this proposal as the bill was drafted and will provide more information as the bill is rolled out publicly in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Washington, D.C. awaits the outcomes of the November mid-term elections. NACWA is pleased that President Trump and Congressional Democratic leaders are already expressing a desire to work across party lines next year on a larger infrastructure package that is expected to include water as a component.

NACWA will continue working with the Administration and Congress to build on the successes we have had so far and ensure that clean water remains a key Congressional priority.  Please contact Kristina Surfus or Jason Isakovic with any questions.