From the Field: Safe-T-Cover Goes to Washington

Safe-T-Cover recently attended the WASDA-Washington DC Summit, where we visited Senators and Representatives on Capitol Hill to discuss the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. We urged our representatives to maintain all of the allocated funds for drinking water, as well as suggested ways to augment those funds and make sure they are going to municipalities in need. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (also known as The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act [IIJA]) provides significant funding for infrastructure projects across the United States, including water, wastewater, transportation and broadband. The DC Summit allowed professionals from the water and sewer industries to share our knowledge of infrastructure needs, supply chain expertise and workforce experiences with legislators from all over the country. 

Our message was simple: the IIJA was a great first step towards rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure but vigilance is needed to ensure that all the funds allocated for our water supply are properly distributed. In 2022 and thus far in 2023, Congress has failed to fully fund the IIJA water programs through appropriations.

In 1977, over 30% of our nation’s budget was dedicated to infrastructure needs. Since then, that number has dwindled to a paltry 4%, despite huge population growth and sprawl throughout the country. As Congress gets ready to implement massive budget cuts, we reminded our representatives that the protection of our water supply is not something that can be negotiated. It is absolutely imperative to properly fund our water infrastructure and protect our most precious natural resource.

It was a very productive and exhausting week of meetings on Capitol Hill. One of our responsibilities as citizens is to communicate with our representatives and let them know what is important to us. The protection of our water supply is vital to every American citizen and it was a pleasure to spread that message to our Congressional representatives.