Careless Cuts to Spending May Result in Dangerous Situation for America’s Water Supply

With the federal government now fully in transition between Election Day and Inauguration Day, discussion of changes to policy have dominated headlines, news programs, radio broadcasts and social media. There is one area in some of the proposed forthcoming changes that caught our attention and runs the risk of being overlooked and having an outsized impact on every American’s quality of life.

There is talk of unilateral cancellation of federal programs and departments with expired congressional spending authorizations, derisively referred to in the past as “zombie government spending programs.” Among these programs include funding for NOAA, NASA, veterans’ health care, the FAA, housing grants and funding for America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) of 2018.

AWIA, signed into law after overwhelming bipartisan support, is the legal evolution to the Safe Drinking Water Act, covering 30 enforced programs. It authorized investments in water infrastructure in the wake of the lead lateral issues found in Flint, Michigan, provided for state level accountability for asset management, training and reporting, commissioned studies on intractable water systems and sparked the Water System Restructuring Rule, which calls for reorganization of public water systems that cannot bring themselves into compliance with health standards.

In short, the AWIA was and is necessary legislation to help modernize, standardize and provide for equity for water utilities and citizens across the country.

At Safe-T-Cover, we believe in the importance of consistent, clear standards when it comes to utility infrastructure, it’s why we’re so vocal about Thinking Outside the Vault. It’s also why we work with trade organizations like AWWA and WASDA to modernize local, state and federal regulations to move waterworks equipment out of confined spaces like below-grade vaults and into above-ground enclosures. In November, AWWA released an open letter to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water Act; we view AWIA as a critical and necessary component to SDWA’s foundational principles.

Without the protections and funding provided by AWIA, there will be no standardization or way for utilities to demonstrate compliance with drinking water regulations. This kind of deregulation literally puts everyone, as well as our natural habitats, at risk.

After all, what good is a backflow preventer and enclosure if we can’t rely on the quality of the water supply?

We encourage our friends at AWWA to continue advocating for higher standards for water quality. Similarly, we encourage you to contact your elected officials to tell them to support clean water and to protect AWIA from cancellation.