AMWA, together with the Water Utility Climate Alliance and American Water Works Association, sent letters last week to the Senate and House committees overseeing appropriations for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), urging them to maintain funding for the Regional Integrated Science and Assessments (RISA) program.
The letter expresses the importance of the research conducted by RISA funded-programs for utility planning. The president’s FY18 budget recommends a 16 percent cut to the Regional Climate Data and Information budget line, which the letter argues would “severely harm the RISA program’s ability to maintain critical research related to drinking water, coastal flooding, wildfires, drought preparedness, climate change adaptation, and public health.”