Advocacy & Analysis
For more than 40 years, NACWA has been the leader in national clean water advocacy, and the strongest voice for publicly owned wastewater and stormwater utilities. Whether educating lawmakers on key clean water issues in the halls of Congress, advancing critical regulatory priorities with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or other federal agencies, or litigating in courts across the nation on behalf of municipal clean water interests, NACWA is always at the forefront of the advocacy effort, representing clean water utilities, their communities and their ratepayers.
We invite you to learn more about NACWA’s current advocacy initiatives and read in-depth analyses of how current legislative, regulatory, and legal developments will impact public clean water agencies. From late-breaking news in our Advocacy Alerts to more comprehensive coverage of key advocacy priorities in our Updates, NACWA’s resources provide a comprehensive source of clean water information. This page also highlights current NACWA advocacy campaigns and contains critical advocacy tools to help clean water agencies add their voice to that of others around the country in elevating clean water as a national priority.
Advocacy
Alerts
December 2025/January 2026 Regulatory Update
Regulatory Perspectives
The Next Nutrient Bill. Is It Worth It?
A quietly released U.S. Environmental Protection (EPA) peer-reviewed study using data over a 30-year period revealed the clean water community improved water quality, protecting aquatic life and mitigating nutrient pollution – even when communities are seeing serious population growth. The study, published in Environmental Science and Technology towards the end of 2025, is a positive finding by EPA’s Office of Research and Development (now defunct), but it underplays the significant investment clean water utilities have made – shelving out billions of ratepayer dollars to reign in sources of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) largely out of their control and often driven by environmental NGO litigation.
The study used EPA’s National Nutrient Inventory, a large data set that analyzes N and P flows from 1987 to 2017 and tracks sources across agriculture, cities and wastewater treatment, air pollution, and natural systems. Its key findings include that over this period air pollution improved, wastewater nutrient loading remained stable while population grew, and the agriculture community—while still a key source of unregulated pollution— became more efficient at producing more food without increasing excess nutrients.
Notably, the study found “despite urban expansion and a 40% population increase since 1987, improvements in wastewater treatment technologies restrained increases in national point source N loads to only 9% from 1987 to 2017 and resulted in a reduction in P loads (by 19%). While the study acknowledged that most waters in the U.S. are impaired for nutrients and surface water nutrient pollution remains persistent, it challenges the idea that “contemporary surpluses” could be a driving factor and suggests that legacy overfertilization from agriculture – where hundreds of kilograms of surplus nutrients were applied per hectare for decades – continue to persist in upstream sources. And “these sources stored in farm fields, riparian areas, wetlands and stream beds, have the potential to mask the benefits of contemporary nutrient input reductions.”
This report comes at a timely moment. At our Winter Conference in Miami next week, NACWA’s Water Quality Committee will be exploring high stakes nutrient debates, stretching from Puget Sound to the Atlantic, that will have consequential impacts on communities for decades. Driven by increasingly complex and consequential modeling assumptions that often fail to fully account for accelerating effects of climate change, clean water utilities that should be celebrated for their strategic part in keeping nutrients in check amid a dramatic 40% population increase as shown by the nutrient inventory now face the next generation of decision-making and significant pressure to invest more, but will the environmental payoff be as significant?
Members wanting more information can contact Emily Remmel, NACWA’s Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs to learn more.
Top Stories
Water Sector Associations Discuss Cybersecurity Advocacy Strategy
NACWA hosted a meeting with several other national water sector associations on January 22 to discuss opportunities for joint legislative and regulatory advocacy to improve cybersecurity at drinking water and wastewater utilities. The groups discussed their priorities and their efforts to support bills that have been introduced in Congress.
NACWA was joined by staff from the Water Environment Federation (WEF), the American Water Works Association (AWWA), the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), the National Association of Water Companies (NAWC), and the National Rural Water Association (NRWA). The associations focused on areas of alignment and agreed to work together to support bills that would be beneficial to the entire sector.
As a first step, the associations plan to send a joint letter to the leadership of the relevant House and Senate Committees of Jurisdiction identifying a common platform of cybersecurity-related bills, and why they would be beneficial to the water sector. The groups plan to meet again within the next few months to discuss additional legislative priorities. A Senate hearing on the issue has also been proposed for early February.
Members with questions about cybersecurity may contact Cynthia Finley, NACWA’s Director of Regulatory Affairs.
NACWA, along with colleagues from the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), met with the Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on December 11 to discuss the success of the temporary Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) and urge support for a permanent program.
LIHWAP was first established and funded by Congress in Fiscal Year 2021 and received two tranches of federal funding totaling $1.14 billion. Over its three years of operation, starting during the COVID-19 pandemic, LIHWAP provided critical assistance for 1.6 million households struggling to pay water bills. This funding helped numerous households address water affordability concerns and allowed utilities to collect much needed additional revenue.
NACWA has been working urgently to support a permanent program that builds on this success. Much of that focus is on Congress, which needs to pass legislation authorizing and funding the program. However, buy-in from the Trump Administration is key as well, and NACWA appreciated the opportunity to meet with political leadership from HHS to discuss the program’s vital role in helping low-income households and protecting public health.
HHS staff were interested in the scope of the water affordability challenge and how unaffordable water services affect households, including spillover impacts on issues important to HHS such as supporting children and families.
Members with questions may contact Kristina Surfus, NACWA’s Managing Director of Government Affairs.
NACWA Encourages EPA to Adopt Affirmative Defense Provisions in Clean Air Act Rules
NACWA filed comments on December 8 encouraging EPA to adopt new affirmative defense provisions in the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for the Secondary Lead Smelting source category (Secondary Lead Smelting NESHAP) under Clean Air Act section 112. While NACWA does not have direct interest in lead smelting, the issues involved in this NESHAP could impact sewage sludge incinerators.
Affirmative defense provisions allow operators of stationary sources to temporarily exceed Clean Air Act emission standards if malfunctions are unavoidable. The EPA has acknowledged this can happen even when the sources, including sewage sludge incinerators operated by public clean water utilities to manage biosolids, are appropriately maintained and operated. Read the full story in the Clean Water Current.
Contact: Amanda Aspatore, 202-833-1450.
NACWA Submits Comments on PFAS Reporting, WOTUS Rulemaking
NACWA submitted two comment letters in late 2025 and early 2026 to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — one on expanded reporting requirements for PFAS manufacturers and producers and another on the proposed update to the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) definition. If finalized as proposed, both rules could affect public clean water utility operations and create potential permitting disputes over stormwater and/or water recycling discharges.
In comments to EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, NACWA joined with the Water Environment Federation (WEF) in support of the Agency’s continued effort to use its authority under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to require manufacturers and producers to report PFAS use. While only a one-time reporting requirement, this publicly accessible data could provide the clean water sector with vital information on upstream users and help with source control.
In a different regulatory initiative, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recently proposed an updated WOTUS definition. NACWA is grateful for EPA’s effort to clarify that waste treatment systems are fully excluded by proposing to codify that “all components” of a wastewater treatment facility are shielded from unnecessary WOTUS jurisdictional disputes. If finalized, this clarification ensures that public clean water utilities can continue carrying out their essential work to protect clean water, public health, and the environment. Read the full story in the Clean Water Current.
Contact: Emily Remmel or 202-533-1839.
Security and Emergency Preparedness
Water Sector Coordinating Council Meets on Cybersecurity, Other Issues
The Water Sector Coordinating Council (WSCC) met on Dec. 4 to discuss issues related to the security and emergency preparedness of the water sector, particularly cybersecurity. The meeting also included discussions with the Water Government Coordinating Council (GCC), which is made up of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), other federal agencies, and the states.
The GCC provided presentations on the security-related projects that are currently underway at the federal agencies. The WSCC provided input on these projects, as well as input on how future work might be shaped to best benefit drinking water and clean water utilities. Although cybersecurity remains the primary focus for improving security at utilities, preparedness and recovery from natural disasters is also a major area of concern.
On Dec. 5, a working group of WSCC and GCC members met to plan how the various water sector associations and government agencies can communicate and coordinate their work on cybersecurity, in line with the recommendations of the Cybersecurity Task Force that was convened in 2024. Read the full story in the Clean Water Current.
Contact: Cynthia Finley, 202-533-1836.
Regulatory Updates
December 2025/January 2026 Regulatory Update
Regulatory Perspectives
The Next Nutrient Bill. Is It Worth It?
A quietly released U.S. Environmental Protection (EPA) peer-reviewed study using data over a 30-year period revealed the clean water community improved water quality, protecting aquatic life and mitigating nutrient pollution – even when communities are seeing serious population growth. The study, published in Environmental Science and Technology towards the end of 2025, is a positive finding by EPA’s Office of Research and Development (now defunct), but it underplays the significant investment clean water utilities have made – shelving out billions of ratepayer dollars to reign in sources of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) largely out of their control and often driven by environmental NGO litigation.
The study used EPA’s National Nutrient Inventory, a large data set that analyzes N and P flows from 1987 to 2017 and tracks sources across agriculture, cities and wastewater treatment, air pollution, and natural systems. Its key findings include that over this period air pollution improved, wastewater nutrient loading remained stable while population grew, and the agriculture community—while still a key source of unregulated pollution— became more efficient at producing more food without increasing excess nutrients.
Notably, the study found “despite urban expansion and a 40% population increase since 1987, improvements in wastewater treatment technologies restrained increases in national point source N loads to only 9% from 1987 to 2017 and resulted in a reduction in P loads (by 19%). While the study acknowledged that most waters in the U.S. are impaired for nutrients and surface water nutrient pollution remains persistent, it challenges the idea that “contemporary surpluses” could be a driving factor and suggests that legacy overfertilization from agriculture – where hundreds of kilograms of surplus nutrients were applied per hectare for decades – continue to persist in upstream sources. And “these sources stored in farm fields, riparian areas, wetlands and stream beds, have the potential to mask the benefits of contemporary nutrient input reductions.”
This report comes at a timely moment. At our Winter Conference in Miami next week, NACWA’s Water Quality Committee will be exploring high stakes nutrient debates, stretching from Puget Sound to the Atlantic, that will have consequential impacts on communities for decades. Driven by increasingly complex and consequential modeling assumptions that often fail to fully account for accelerating effects of climate change, clean water utilities that should be celebrated for their strategic part in keeping nutrients in check amid a dramatic 40% population increase as shown by the nutrient inventory now face the next generation of decision-making and significant pressure to invest more, but will the environmental payoff be as significant?
Members wanting more information can contact Emily Remmel, NACWA’s Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs to learn more.
Top Stories
Water Sector Associations Discuss Cybersecurity Advocacy Strategy
NACWA hosted a meeting with several other national water sector associations on January 22 to discuss opportunities for joint legislative and regulatory advocacy to improve cybersecurity at drinking water and wastewater utilities. The groups discussed their priorities and their efforts to support bills that have been introduced in Congress.
NACWA was joined by staff from the Water Environment Federation (WEF), the American Water Works Association (AWWA), the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), the National Association of Water Companies (NAWC), and the National Rural Water Association (NRWA). The associations focused on areas of alignment and agreed to work together to support bills that would be beneficial to the entire sector.
As a first step, the associations plan to send a joint letter to the leadership of the relevant House and Senate Committees of Jurisdiction identifying a common platform of cybersecurity-related bills, and why they would be beneficial to the water sector. The groups plan to meet again within the next few months to discuss additional legislative priorities. A Senate hearing on the issue has also been proposed for early February.
Members with questions about cybersecurity may contact Cynthia Finley, NACWA’s Director of Regulatory Affairs.
NACWA, along with colleagues from the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), met with the Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on December 11 to discuss the success of the temporary Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) and urge support for a permanent program.
LIHWAP was first established and funded by Congress in Fiscal Year 2021 and received two tranches of federal funding totaling $1.14 billion. Over its three years of operation, starting during the COVID-19 pandemic, LIHWAP provided critical assistance for 1.6 million households struggling to pay water bills. This funding helped numerous households address water affordability concerns and allowed utilities to collect much needed additional revenue.
NACWA has been working urgently to support a permanent program that builds on this success. Much of that focus is on Congress, which needs to pass legislation authorizing and funding the program. However, buy-in from the Trump Administration is key as well, and NACWA appreciated the opportunity to meet with political leadership from HHS to discuss the program’s vital role in helping low-income households and protecting public health.
HHS staff were interested in the scope of the water affordability challenge and how unaffordable water services affect households, including spillover impacts on issues important to HHS such as supporting children and families.
Members with questions may contact Kristina Surfus, NACWA’s Managing Director of Government Affairs.
NACWA Encourages EPA to Adopt Affirmative Defense Provisions in Clean Air Act Rules
NACWA filed comments on December 8 encouraging EPA to adopt new affirmative defense provisions in the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for the Secondary Lead Smelting source category (Secondary Lead Smelting NESHAP) under Clean Air Act section 112. While NACWA does not have direct interest in lead smelting, the issues involved in this NESHAP could impact sewage sludge incinerators.
Affirmative defense provisions allow operators of stationary sources to temporarily exceed Clean Air Act emission standards if malfunctions are unavoidable. The EPA has acknowledged this can happen even when the sources, including sewage sludge incinerators operated by public clean water utilities to manage biosolids, are appropriately maintained and operated. Read the full story in the Clean Water Current.
Contact: Amanda Aspatore, 202-833-1450.
NACWA Submits Comments on PFAS Reporting, WOTUS Rulemaking
NACWA submitted two comment letters in late 2025 and early 2026 to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — one on expanded reporting requirements for PFAS manufacturers and producers and another on the proposed update to the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) definition. If finalized as proposed, both rules could affect public clean water utility operations and create potential permitting disputes over stormwater and/or water recycling discharges.
In comments to EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, NACWA joined with the Water Environment Federation (WEF) in support of the Agency’s continued effort to use its authority under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to require manufacturers and producers to report PFAS use. While only a one-time reporting requirement, this publicly accessible data could provide the clean water sector with vital information on upstream users and help with source control.
In a different regulatory initiative, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recently proposed an updated WOTUS definition. NACWA is grateful for EPA’s effort to clarify that waste treatment systems are fully excluded by proposing to codify that “all components” of a wastewater treatment facility are shielded from unnecessary WOTUS jurisdictional disputes. If finalized, this clarification ensures that public clean water utilities can continue carrying out their essential work to protect clean water, public health, and the environment. Read the full story in the Clean Water Current.
Contact: Emily Remmel or 202-533-1839.
Security and Emergency Preparedness
Water Sector Coordinating Council Meets on Cybersecurity, Other Issues
The Water Sector Coordinating Council (WSCC) met on Dec. 4 to discuss issues related to the security and emergency preparedness of the water sector, particularly cybersecurity. The meeting also included discussions with the Water Government Coordinating Council (GCC), which is made up of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), other federal agencies, and the states.
The GCC provided presentations on the security-related projects that are currently underway at the federal agencies. The WSCC provided input on these projects, as well as input on how future work might be shaped to best benefit drinking water and clean water utilities. Although cybersecurity remains the primary focus for improving security at utilities, preparedness and recovery from natural disasters is also a major area of concern.
On Dec. 5, a working group of WSCC and GCC members met to plan how the various water sector associations and government agencies can communicate and coordinate their work on cybersecurity, in line with the recommendations of the Cybersecurity Task Force that was convened in 2024. Read the full story in the Clean Water Current.
Contact: Cynthia Finley, 202-533-1836.
Legislative
Updates
December 2025/January 2026 Regulatory Update
Regulatory Perspectives
The Next Nutrient Bill. Is It Worth It?
A quietly released U.S. Environmental Protection (EPA) peer-reviewed study using data over a 30-year period revealed the clean water community improved water quality, protecting aquatic life and mitigating nutrient pollution – even when communities are seeing serious population growth. The study, published in Environmental Science and Technology towards the end of 2025, is a positive finding by EPA’s Office of Research and Development (now defunct), but it underplays the significant investment clean water utilities have made – shelving out billions of ratepayer dollars to reign in sources of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) largely out of their control and often driven by environmental NGO litigation.
The study used EPA’s National Nutrient Inventory, a large data set that analyzes N and P flows from 1987 to 2017 and tracks sources across agriculture, cities and wastewater treatment, air pollution, and natural systems. Its key findings include that over this period air pollution improved, wastewater nutrient loading remained stable while population grew, and the agriculture community—while still a key source of unregulated pollution— became more efficient at producing more food without increasing excess nutrients.
Notably, the study found “despite urban expansion and a 40% population increase since 1987, improvements in wastewater treatment technologies restrained increases in national point source N loads to only 9% from 1987 to 2017 and resulted in a reduction in P loads (by 19%). While the study acknowledged that most waters in the U.S. are impaired for nutrients and surface water nutrient pollution remains persistent, it challenges the idea that “contemporary surpluses” could be a driving factor and suggests that legacy overfertilization from agriculture – where hundreds of kilograms of surplus nutrients were applied per hectare for decades – continue to persist in upstream sources. And “these sources stored in farm fields, riparian areas, wetlands and stream beds, have the potential to mask the benefits of contemporary nutrient input reductions.”
This report comes at a timely moment. At our Winter Conference in Miami next week, NACWA’s Water Quality Committee will be exploring high stakes nutrient debates, stretching from Puget Sound to the Atlantic, that will have consequential impacts on communities for decades. Driven by increasingly complex and consequential modeling assumptions that often fail to fully account for accelerating effects of climate change, clean water utilities that should be celebrated for their strategic part in keeping nutrients in check amid a dramatic 40% population increase as shown by the nutrient inventory now face the next generation of decision-making and significant pressure to invest more, but will the environmental payoff be as significant?
Members wanting more information can contact Emily Remmel, NACWA’s Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs to learn more.
Top Stories
Water Sector Associations Discuss Cybersecurity Advocacy Strategy
NACWA hosted a meeting with several other national water sector associations on January 22 to discuss opportunities for joint legislative and regulatory advocacy to improve cybersecurity at drinking water and wastewater utilities. The groups discussed their priorities and their efforts to support bills that have been introduced in Congress.
NACWA was joined by staff from the Water Environment Federation (WEF), the American Water Works Association (AWWA), the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), the National Association of Water Companies (NAWC), and the National Rural Water Association (NRWA). The associations focused on areas of alignment and agreed to work together to support bills that would be beneficial to the entire sector.
As a first step, the associations plan to send a joint letter to the leadership of the relevant House and Senate Committees of Jurisdiction identifying a common platform of cybersecurity-related bills, and why they would be beneficial to the water sector. The groups plan to meet again within the next few months to discuss additional legislative priorities. A Senate hearing on the issue has also been proposed for early February.
Members with questions about cybersecurity may contact Cynthia Finley, NACWA’s Director of Regulatory Affairs.
NACWA, along with colleagues from the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), met with the Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on December 11 to discuss the success of the temporary Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) and urge support for a permanent program.
LIHWAP was first established and funded by Congress in Fiscal Year 2021 and received two tranches of federal funding totaling $1.14 billion. Over its three years of operation, starting during the COVID-19 pandemic, LIHWAP provided critical assistance for 1.6 million households struggling to pay water bills. This funding helped numerous households address water affordability concerns and allowed utilities to collect much needed additional revenue.
NACWA has been working urgently to support a permanent program that builds on this success. Much of that focus is on Congress, which needs to pass legislation authorizing and funding the program. However, buy-in from the Trump Administration is key as well, and NACWA appreciated the opportunity to meet with political leadership from HHS to discuss the program’s vital role in helping low-income households and protecting public health.
HHS staff were interested in the scope of the water affordability challenge and how unaffordable water services affect households, including spillover impacts on issues important to HHS such as supporting children and families.
Members with questions may contact Kristina Surfus, NACWA’s Managing Director of Government Affairs.
NACWA Encourages EPA to Adopt Affirmative Defense Provisions in Clean Air Act Rules
NACWA filed comments on December 8 encouraging EPA to adopt new affirmative defense provisions in the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for the Secondary Lead Smelting source category (Secondary Lead Smelting NESHAP) under Clean Air Act section 112. While NACWA does not have direct interest in lead smelting, the issues involved in this NESHAP could impact sewage sludge incinerators.
Affirmative defense provisions allow operators of stationary sources to temporarily exceed Clean Air Act emission standards if malfunctions are unavoidable. The EPA has acknowledged this can happen even when the sources, including sewage sludge incinerators operated by public clean water utilities to manage biosolids, are appropriately maintained and operated. Read the full story in the Clean Water Current.
Contact: Amanda Aspatore, 202-833-1450.
NACWA Submits Comments on PFAS Reporting, WOTUS Rulemaking
NACWA submitted two comment letters in late 2025 and early 2026 to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — one on expanded reporting requirements for PFAS manufacturers and producers and another on the proposed update to the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) definition. If finalized as proposed, both rules could affect public clean water utility operations and create potential permitting disputes over stormwater and/or water recycling discharges.
In comments to EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, NACWA joined with the Water Environment Federation (WEF) in support of the Agency’s continued effort to use its authority under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to require manufacturers and producers to report PFAS use. While only a one-time reporting requirement, this publicly accessible data could provide the clean water sector with vital information on upstream users and help with source control.
In a different regulatory initiative, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recently proposed an updated WOTUS definition. NACWA is grateful for EPA’s effort to clarify that waste treatment systems are fully excluded by proposing to codify that “all components” of a wastewater treatment facility are shielded from unnecessary WOTUS jurisdictional disputes. If finalized, this clarification ensures that public clean water utilities can continue carrying out their essential work to protect clean water, public health, and the environment. Read the full story in the Clean Water Current.
Contact: Emily Remmel or 202-533-1839.
Security and Emergency Preparedness
Water Sector Coordinating Council Meets on Cybersecurity, Other Issues
The Water Sector Coordinating Council (WSCC) met on Dec. 4 to discuss issues related to the security and emergency preparedness of the water sector, particularly cybersecurity. The meeting also included discussions with the Water Government Coordinating Council (GCC), which is made up of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), other federal agencies, and the states.
The GCC provided presentations on the security-related projects that are currently underway at the federal agencies. The WSCC provided input on these projects, as well as input on how future work might be shaped to best benefit drinking water and clean water utilities. Although cybersecurity remains the primary focus for improving security at utilities, preparedness and recovery from natural disasters is also a major area of concern.
On Dec. 5, a working group of WSCC and GCC members met to plan how the various water sector associations and government agencies can communicate and coordinate their work on cybersecurity, in line with the recommendations of the Cybersecurity Task Force that was convened in 2024. Read the full story in the Clean Water Current.
Contact: Cynthia Finley, 202-533-1836.
Legal
Updates
December 2025/January 2026 Regulatory Update
Regulatory Perspectives
The Next Nutrient Bill. Is It Worth It?
A quietly released U.S. Environmental Protection (EPA) peer-reviewed study using data over a 30-year period revealed the clean water community improved water quality, protecting aquatic life and mitigating nutrient pollution – even when communities are seeing serious population growth. The study, published in Environmental Science and Technology towards the end of 2025, is a positive finding by EPA’s Office of Research and Development (now defunct), but it underplays the significant investment clean water utilities have made – shelving out billions of ratepayer dollars to reign in sources of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) largely out of their control and often driven by environmental NGO litigation.
The study used EPA’s National Nutrient Inventory, a large data set that analyzes N and P flows from 1987 to 2017 and tracks sources across agriculture, cities and wastewater treatment, air pollution, and natural systems. Its key findings include that over this period air pollution improved, wastewater nutrient loading remained stable while population grew, and the agriculture community—while still a key source of unregulated pollution— became more efficient at producing more food without increasing excess nutrients.
Notably, the study found “despite urban expansion and a 40% population increase since 1987, improvements in wastewater treatment technologies restrained increases in national point source N loads to only 9% from 1987 to 2017 and resulted in a reduction in P loads (by 19%). While the study acknowledged that most waters in the U.S. are impaired for nutrients and surface water nutrient pollution remains persistent, it challenges the idea that “contemporary surpluses” could be a driving factor and suggests that legacy overfertilization from agriculture – where hundreds of kilograms of surplus nutrients were applied per hectare for decades – continue to persist in upstream sources. And “these sources stored in farm fields, riparian areas, wetlands and stream beds, have the potential to mask the benefits of contemporary nutrient input reductions.”
This report comes at a timely moment. At our Winter Conference in Miami next week, NACWA’s Water Quality Committee will be exploring high stakes nutrient debates, stretching from Puget Sound to the Atlantic, that will have consequential impacts on communities for decades. Driven by increasingly complex and consequential modeling assumptions that often fail to fully account for accelerating effects of climate change, clean water utilities that should be celebrated for their strategic part in keeping nutrients in check amid a dramatic 40% population increase as shown by the nutrient inventory now face the next generation of decision-making and significant pressure to invest more, but will the environmental payoff be as significant?
Members wanting more information can contact Emily Remmel, NACWA’s Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs to learn more.
Top Stories
Water Sector Associations Discuss Cybersecurity Advocacy Strategy
NACWA hosted a meeting with several other national water sector associations on January 22 to discuss opportunities for joint legislative and regulatory advocacy to improve cybersecurity at drinking water and wastewater utilities. The groups discussed their priorities and their efforts to support bills that have been introduced in Congress.
NACWA was joined by staff from the Water Environment Federation (WEF), the American Water Works Association (AWWA), the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), the National Association of Water Companies (NAWC), and the National Rural Water Association (NRWA). The associations focused on areas of alignment and agreed to work together to support bills that would be beneficial to the entire sector.
As a first step, the associations plan to send a joint letter to the leadership of the relevant House and Senate Committees of Jurisdiction identifying a common platform of cybersecurity-related bills, and why they would be beneficial to the water sector. The groups plan to meet again within the next few months to discuss additional legislative priorities. A Senate hearing on the issue has also been proposed for early February.
Members with questions about cybersecurity may contact Cynthia Finley, NACWA’s Director of Regulatory Affairs.
NACWA, along with colleagues from the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), met with the Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on December 11 to discuss the success of the temporary Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) and urge support for a permanent program.
LIHWAP was first established and funded by Congress in Fiscal Year 2021 and received two tranches of federal funding totaling $1.14 billion. Over its three years of operation, starting during the COVID-19 pandemic, LIHWAP provided critical assistance for 1.6 million households struggling to pay water bills. This funding helped numerous households address water affordability concerns and allowed utilities to collect much needed additional revenue.
NACWA has been working urgently to support a permanent program that builds on this success. Much of that focus is on Congress, which needs to pass legislation authorizing and funding the program. However, buy-in from the Trump Administration is key as well, and NACWA appreciated the opportunity to meet with political leadership from HHS to discuss the program’s vital role in helping low-income households and protecting public health.
HHS staff were interested in the scope of the water affordability challenge and how unaffordable water services affect households, including spillover impacts on issues important to HHS such as supporting children and families.
Members with questions may contact Kristina Surfus, NACWA’s Managing Director of Government Affairs.
NACWA Encourages EPA to Adopt Affirmative Defense Provisions in Clean Air Act Rules
NACWA filed comments on December 8 encouraging EPA to adopt new affirmative defense provisions in the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for the Secondary Lead Smelting source category (Secondary Lead Smelting NESHAP) under Clean Air Act section 112. While NACWA does not have direct interest in lead smelting, the issues involved in this NESHAP could impact sewage sludge incinerators.
Affirmative defense provisions allow operators of stationary sources to temporarily exceed Clean Air Act emission standards if malfunctions are unavoidable. The EPA has acknowledged this can happen even when the sources, including sewage sludge incinerators operated by public clean water utilities to manage biosolids, are appropriately maintained and operated. Read the full story in the Clean Water Current.
Contact: Amanda Aspatore, 202-833-1450.
NACWA Submits Comments on PFAS Reporting, WOTUS Rulemaking
NACWA submitted two comment letters in late 2025 and early 2026 to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — one on expanded reporting requirements for PFAS manufacturers and producers and another on the proposed update to the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) definition. If finalized as proposed, both rules could affect public clean water utility operations and create potential permitting disputes over stormwater and/or water recycling discharges.
In comments to EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, NACWA joined with the Water Environment Federation (WEF) in support of the Agency’s continued effort to use its authority under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to require manufacturers and producers to report PFAS use. While only a one-time reporting requirement, this publicly accessible data could provide the clean water sector with vital information on upstream users and help with source control.
In a different regulatory initiative, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recently proposed an updated WOTUS definition. NACWA is grateful for EPA’s effort to clarify that waste treatment systems are fully excluded by proposing to codify that “all components” of a wastewater treatment facility are shielded from unnecessary WOTUS jurisdictional disputes. If finalized, this clarification ensures that public clean water utilities can continue carrying out their essential work to protect clean water, public health, and the environment. Read the full story in the Clean Water Current.
Contact: Emily Remmel or 202-533-1839.
Security and Emergency Preparedness
Water Sector Coordinating Council Meets on Cybersecurity, Other Issues
The Water Sector Coordinating Council (WSCC) met on Dec. 4 to discuss issues related to the security and emergency preparedness of the water sector, particularly cybersecurity. The meeting also included discussions with the Water Government Coordinating Council (GCC), which is made up of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), other federal agencies, and the states.
The GCC provided presentations on the security-related projects that are currently underway at the federal agencies. The WSCC provided input on these projects, as well as input on how future work might be shaped to best benefit drinking water and clean water utilities. Although cybersecurity remains the primary focus for improving security at utilities, preparedness and recovery from natural disasters is also a major area of concern.
On Dec. 5, a working group of WSCC and GCC members met to plan how the various water sector associations and government agencies can communicate and coordinate their work on cybersecurity, in line with the recommendations of the Cybersecurity Task Force that was convened in 2024. Read the full story in the Clean Water Current.
Contact: Cynthia Finley, 202-533-1836.
Advocacy Priorities
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Biosolids Explained
PFAS are released into the environment in many ways, such as through the products that contain them, through improper disposal by manufacturers, and by fire-fighting foam when it is used. Because PFAS are a part of so many products, they are often found in soil and water samples, too. Your wastewater service provider receives water from homes and businesses that contains PFAS, likely from our bodies, dishes, and clothes.
While wastewater systems were not designed to specifically treat or remove PFAS, your providers are prepared to – and have already begun to – study and assess PFAS’ impacts on their treatment facilities, the quality of the water they discharge, and the amount of PFAS that may be found in biosolids.
Your wastewater utility does not generate PFAS
Your wastewater utility receives PFAS when they get into the wastewater from homes, businesses, and industrial processes. While the utility and its customers cannot be expected to bear the full costs involved in addressing PFAS, they are strong partners in reducing PFAS in our communities.
Stormwater
As the nation’s leading advocacy voice for municipal stormwater utilities across the country, NACWA is dedicated to protecting water quality; addressing large scale watershed impacts, such as flooding and erosion; and solving related modern-day challenges, such as water quality impairment from stormwater runoff and land-use impacts.
The Association and its individual members are committed to advancing robust, innovative programs and working collaboratively with regulators and stakeholders. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) MS4 General Permit Remand Rule, issued in early 2017, represents a change in the development and issuance of National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits for small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s).
Climate Adaptation & Resiliency
Climate change impacts are already affecting clean water agencies and are projected to grow in the years ahead. Increased intensity of storm events and flooding, the threat of sea level rise at treatment works—traditionally located on low-lying coastal land in a community—and increased attention to water scarcity and reuse are just some of the ways in which clean water agencies are seeing impacts from a rapidly changing climate. As the public and government at all levels becomes more concerned, legislative, regulatory and legal pressures to control greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change impacts will grow. Given the critical services clean water agencies provide in their communities, our sector needs to be closely engaged in climate and resiliency conversations.
NACWA believes that climate change is primarily a water issue. The Association’s advocacy focuses on the interrelationships between water resources and climate change. NACWA is also committed to ensuring that greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater treatment are accurately estimated, and that any efforts that impact the wastewater sector are reasonable.
Toilets Are Not Trashcans
NACWA's Toilets Are Not Trashcans campaign is focused on protecting the pipes, pumps, plants, and personnel of wastewater utilities across the nation by reducing the materials that are inappropriately flushed or drained into the sewer system.
Products such as wipes, paper towels and feminine hygiene products should not be flushed, but often are, causing problems for utilities that amount to billions of dollars in maintenance and repair costs—costs which ultimately
pass on to the consumer. Other consumer products contain ingredients, such as plastic microbeads and triclosan, which may harm water quality and the environment. Fats, oils and greases (FOG) and unused pharmaceuticals should also be kept
out of the sewer system.
Nutrients & Farm Bill
Pursuing New Tools to Address Nutrient-Related Water Quality Challenges
Nutrient pollution remains a substantial challenge to the water resources of the United States. Deficiencies in the federal regulatory and policy framework, as well as the lack and inflexibility of financial resources, have constrained needed progress. These factors are driving a strong interest across nutrient management stakeholders in developing and implementing alternative nutrient management approaches.
At the same time, as outlined in more detail below, NACWA played a leading role in securing legislative language in the 2018 Farm Bill that will help public clean water utilities better engage upstream with agricultural partners to achieve meaningful water quality improvements through a holistic, watershed approach.
Integrated Planning
Over the last 45 years, communities have been responding to a growing list of Clean Water Act (CWA) regulatory mandates to improve the nation's water quality. Often taking on compounded wastewater and stormwater responsibilities, many communities are struggling to adequately allocate strained financial resources to these clean water needs.
Thanks to advocacy efforts by NACWA, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and others, EPA recognized the regulated community’s need for flexibility, and developed its Integrated Municipal Stormwater and Wastewater Planning Approach Framework (IP Framework) in 2012. NACWA and its members have been working with EPA and state water regulators ever since to ensure the Framework can be utilized by communities when appropriate.
Affordable Water, Resilient Communities
There is no issue more central to NACWA’s advocacy than increasing the availability of infrastructure funding for public clean water utilities, which includes increased federal funding to support this critical infrastructure sector.
Originally founded in 1970 as an organization focused on ensuring appropriate distribution of federal construction grant dollars under the Clean Water Act, the Association has maintained a strong commitment to advancing federal clean water funding.
At the same time, NACWA has also evolved over the years to recognize the importance of other water infrastructure funding mechanisms including municipal bonds, innovative financing approaches, and public-private partnerships.
PFAS
Publicly owned clean water utilities are “passive receivers” of PFAS, since they do not produce or manufacture PFAS but de facto “receive” these chemicals through the raw influent that arrives at the treatment plant. This influent can come from domestic, industrial, and commercial sources and may contain PFAS constituents ranging from trace to higher concentrations, depending on the nature of the dischargers to the sewer system.
Although the influent is not generated by the utility, the utility is responsible for treating it under the Clean Water Act. Municipal clean water utilities were not traditionally designed or intended with PFAS treatment capabilities in mind. Today, there are no cost-effective techniques available to treat or remove PFAS for the sheer volume of wastewater managed daily by clean water utilities.
NACWA’s advocacy priorities on PFAS include urging source control, empowering the Clean Water Act pretreatment program, preventing public utilities and their customers from unintended liabilities and costs of PFAS management, and advancing research to support sound rulemaking that protects public health and the environment.
Congressional Toolbox
NACWA encourages all of its public utility members to arrange regular meetings with their Senators and Representatives.