On Feb. 15, 23 water industry organizations submitted a joint letter to the Congressional Appropriations Committee urging the committee to fully fund the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds for FY2024.
E&E News reported in July that House lawmakers proposed cutting $1.77 billion from the requested amount from the White House when they proposed cuts to Interior-Environment Appropriates, which included $995.6 million each for the Clean Water SRF and the Drinking Water SRF.
In their letter, the organizations, which includes Water Environment Federation, American Water Works Association, National Association of Clean Water Agencies and others, shared three reasons why the full funding is necessary. Those include:
- Clean water is foundational to protecting public health.
- Demand for SRF financing for water and wastewater systems has increased exponentially.
- Failure to fully fund will jeopardize the current and projected pipeline of water and wastewater infrastructure projects.
According to Wastewater Digest, "water industry leaders pointed to historic inflation levels and lingering impacts of pandemic pricing as reasons for the 40% increase as well as regulatory pressures and rising interest rates."
Read more in the full article “Water leaders urge Congress to fully fund SRF programs for water" on Wastewater Digest, an Endeavor Business Media partner brand.
