A group of leading Democrats in the House of Representatives are asking their colleagues on Capitol Hill to join them in signing a letter that will ask House appropriators to provide a total of $4 billion evenly split between the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs in the 2017 fiscal year.
Authored by the top Democrats on the House committees and subcommittees with oversight of water and wastewater infrastructure, the draft letter cites several recent public health emergencies tied to inadequate water or wastewater treatment as justification for dramatically boosting SRF funding next year. In addition to public health risks, the letter says “water infrastructure failures are costing businesses, individuals, and state and local governments millions of dollars in emergency repairs and responses and in lost revenues.”
The DWSRF received $863 million in the current fiscal year, and President Obama has requested increasing funding to $1.03 billion in FY17. The CWSRF is currently funded at $1.394 billion, with the President proposing to cut the total to $979.5 million next year. The Democrats’ letter circulating on Capitol Hill proposes providing each program with $2 billion next year.
The letter’s organizers have set a Thursday (March 10) deadline to finalize the letter, so AMWA members are encouraged to contact their own members of Congress within the next few days to request they add their names to this letter. AMWA is also in the process of working with other water and wastewater sector associations to develop a letter to congressional appropriators that will request strong investments in the SRFs and WIFIA in the 2017 fiscal year.