The water industry has asked the Congressional Appropriations Committee to fully fund the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds for FY2024 in a Feb. 15 letter. The 23 organizations include Water Environment Federation, American Water Works Association, National Association of Clean Water Agencies and others.
In July 2023 House lawmakers proposed cutting $1.77 billion from Interior-Environment Appropriates, which included $995.6 million each for the Clean Water SRF and the Drinking Water SRF. The amount the White House requested (full funding) would come in at $3 billion.
This proposal was met with a similar letter from the industry in August, 2023 according to a report from Water Finance & Management. Highlights include three reasons the full funding is necessary.
- 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.
State of the Industry reports indicate a willingness and understanding on the part of the industry to focus a majority of budgets on infrastructure projects meeting with new regulations despite marked inflation and managing already aged infrastructures.
To learn more about how state revolving funds (SRFs) are being impacted by congressionally directed funding decreases, read the full article “Water leaders urge Congress to fully fund SRF programs for water" on Wastewater Digest, an Endeavor Business Media partner brand.
