NACWA joined with a coalition of water sector organizations June 15 on a letter to oppose proposed cuts in the Trump Administration’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 budget to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Water and Wastewater Loan and Grant program.  The letter, spearheaded by the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP), outlines the vital role this federal program plays in helping ensure high quality drinking water and sanitation services throughout rural America.  Other groups signing the letter included the National Rural Water Association, the American Water Works Association, the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, the Water Environment Federation, and the Association of Regional Water Organizations. 

The Administration’s proposed FY 2018 budget would completely eliminate this critical funding program, and instead suggested that the existing State Revolving Funds (SRFs) could be used to meet the funding need.  However, the budget does not include a commensurate increase in SRF resources to address this need, creating additional stress on an already-limited amount of funding dollars.  NACWA will continue to push back on cuts for any type of water funding.