Clean Water Current

(February 26, 2020) – NACWA CEO Adam Krantz published an op-ed in Bloomberg Environment yesterday, February 25, highlighting the hard work and remarkable efforts undertaken by public clean water utilities to comply with federally mandated consent decrees regarding combined sewer overflows under the integrated planning framework.

Prompted in part by recent misguided media attention around the work that cities and municipalities have done to more efficiently and affordably comply with federal regulations, namely petitioning EPA for reopeners to modify – not relax - their consent decrees, the op-ed sets the record straight regarding the steps utilities are taking to tackle the numerous clean water priorities they must face with their limited budgetary resources.

NACWA encourages all members to please read and share this op-ed, as it accurately paints a picture of public clean water utilities as the environmental stewards they are, on the front lines of clean water protection, serving their communities with dedication and commitment.

NACWA hopes that this op-ed, part of a more aggressive NACWA media campaign and placed in one of the nation’s leading news outlets, will help reshape the conversation around integrated planning as the bipartisan effort it has always been, rather than inappropriately grouping it together with some of the more contentious environmental concerns surrounding the current administration.

For any questions regarding the op-ed, or to request assistance placing a similar story in your newspaper, please contact David Zielonka, NACWA Manager of Media and Communications.