Stormwater industry holds negative view of Trump administration

The stormwater sector has a negative view of President Donald Trump’s performance.  

In a survey conducted by Stormwater Solutions, in which 241 people responded, 59% of respondents said they feel “very negative” about Trump and his administration for the first three months of his term. This is followed by 30% of survey takes feeling very positive about Trump’s performance, 5% feeling somewhat negative, 3% feeling somewhat positive and 3% feeling neutral.  

Of those who took the SWS survey, 37% work in engineering and consulting, 23% work for municipal governments, 6% work for state governments, 4% for original equipment manufacturers and 1% for distributors. 29% of respondents labeled their work as “other” and did not specify which company or sector they currently work in.  

When asked to share thoughts, overwhelmingly, those comments left pertained to funding and regulations.  

Funding 

There are varied views on how the Trump administration is handling funding for the water sector. Some feel the economy as a whole will boom, but others are worried that cuts to federal funding will delay research and halt projects. 

“This administration has cut the federal funding of grants for stormwater management projects, halting projects that were already under way,” said a respondent in state government, with a “very negative” response on Trump. 

“The economy will likely boom, which is good for all sectors,” said a respondent in engineering/consulting with a “very positive” outlook on Trump.  

“The new administration has reduced funding for common-sense water projects solely based on key words in proposals like 'climate' and 'equity.' They are slashing data and science centers that water managers depend on for informing their work. They are trying to slash environmental regulations that exist to protect public health and the environment. And the way they are doing much of this deregulation and defunding is legally dubious or patently illegal,” said a respondent in “other” with a “very negative” view on Trump.  

“With regard to storm water there is one hallmark event - Hurricane Helene that demonstrates this administration's commitment to our citizens over the previous administration. I am very pleased to see the administration revealing and stopping so much waste, graft and fraud.  So much more funding will be available to address our nation’s real infrastructure problems and education,” said a respondent in “other” with a “very positive” view on Trump. 

Regulations 

While much remains to be seen on how exactly regulation changes will impact the stormwater sector, those in the industry have a range of feelings. Some feel Trump is making progress while others are worried the industry will be set back.  

“Clean water is essential for a thriving country. By loosening clean water protections, Trump has devalued the country as a whole,” said a respondent in engineering and consulting with a “very negative” view on Trump.  

“I have not heard that his administration has done anything regarding storm water management and has also delayed PFAS/PFOS regulations which both can negatively impact storm waters,” said a respondent in “other” with a “somewhat negative” view on Trump.  

“There is still much work to do, but the administration is making progress,” said a respondent in “other” with a “very positive” view on Trump.  

“He's setting back the water sector decades and the result will be less safe water for people to swim in, more advisories against eating fish caught inland (if his admin will even allow it), and more expense to clean water resources used for drinking water supplies to get close to safe standards,” said a respondent in municipal government with a “very negative” view on Trump.  

"Getting government out of the way is a beautiful thing. Hopefully there is more on the way,” said a respondent in engineering and consulting with a “very positive” view on Trump.  

SWS plans to conduct another poll on Trump’s performance in June. To share your thoughts, subscribe to the SWS newsletter to be the first to know and take the survey.