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Jose Del Real has dedicated his work in recent years to bringing to light water access inequities in America. Writing for The New York Times, he explored long-standing prejudices in California’s Central Valley, making the case through his reporting for everyone to have access to clean water regardless of their background or socio-economic status. For this important coverage, Jose Del Real has earned the 2020 US Water Prize for Outstanding Journalism.   | More >

Flooding is the most common, costly, and deadly disaster we face. Over 30 million Americans already live in high-risk flood zones and flooding costs our nation more than $8 billion every year. Climate change is making this worse. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting a highly active hurricane season this year. Beyond extreme events, however, some studies estimate localized flooding events have increased more than 300 percent in recent years. Historical redlining practices and a lack of infrastructure investment have placed Black and Brown communities and low-income populations in low-lying areas and areas that flood more frequently. As our nation grapples with a changing climate, we must address these inequities. Utilities – and all water stakeholders – have a key role to play in this endeavor. | More >

Over the course of several months in late 2019 and early 2020, the US Water Alliance and Water Foundation facilitated four regional roundtables to better understand the drinking water challenges confronting communities, and the ways that diverse stakeholders are driving policy solutions at the state and tribal level. The drinking water challenges facing America today are numerous, and include aging infrastructure, contamination, lack of access, and affordability, among others. Many of these challenges that people face have since been exacerbated as COVID-19 hit the United States and have been highlighted by the country’s ongoing discussions around structural racism and its impacts on Black, Indigenous, and communities of color. Today, the US Water Alliance is proud to share the results of our roundtables, the great stories we heard, and the common elements of success we learned in a new report in partnership with the Water Foundation: Policy Innovations to Secure Drinking Water for All. The report highlights the successful collaborations between community organizers, nonprofit leaders, public officials, utility managers, and funders, and features eight case studies that illustrate the power of cross-sector collaboration to define drinking water problems and co-create solutions.  | More >

The Senate has been back in session since last week, and one of the first things they took up in Committee was the unanimous advancement of a pair of water bills. These were the America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) and the Drinking Water Infrastructure Act. America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2020 is the 2020 version of what used to be called the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) bill, which Congress considers now on a two-year cycle. The bulk of these pieces of legislation are typically water resources project for the US Army Corps of Engineers but the last several cycles have had growing portions focused water/wastewater. The 2018 version of this legislation dealt more on the drinking water side, and during the process of crafting the 2020 bill, congressional staff expressed interest, especially on the Senate side, in keeping the 2020 bill more focused on the wastewater side.

In the Senate, a single committee deals with Drinking Water and Wastewater issues whereas in the House it is split between two committees. In the interest of expediting the legislative process, keeping AWIA 2020 just USACE and Wastewater meant only a single committee in the House would be needed to work with the Senate, which is much farther along than the House this cycle. If there was enough support on the Senate side for drinking water legislation, it would move at the same time, but in a separate bill – hence the Drinking Water Infrastructure Act. | More >