The Senate should vote on the “Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2016” before Congress departs Washington next month for a lengthy recess, AMWA and 15 other water, local government and research organizations wrote to Senate leaders last week.
The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee approved the WRDA bill (S. 2848) in April. The bill included a series of new programs to help communities and schools upgrade their water infrastructure to reduce public health threats related to lead, such as targeting $100 million worth of infrastructure funding to Flint, Michigan via the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and jumpstarting the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) pilot program with $70 million in funding. At the time of committee approval, EPW leaders expressed confidence that the full Senate would vote on the measure before Congress begins its summer recess on July 15.
But with fewer than four weeks remaining before the deadline the bill has yet to appear on the Senate calendar. AMWA’s letter requesting action on the bill notes that, in addition to funding WIFIA and the SRF, the measure would “help cities and towns reduce public health risks posed by lead, [and] offer aid to schools seeking to improve the quality of their drinking water.”
Individual AMWA members are encouraged to contact their own senators to call for a WRDA vote. Interested utilities may contact AMWA’s Dan Hartnett ([email protected]) for a sample letter that may be used as a template for communications with their senators.