Clean Water Current

(February 10, 2021) – NACWA and AMWA’s joint Affordable Water, Resilient Communities campaign kicked-off impactfully last Monday, February 1.

In addition to our ongoing advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill, the media also took notice of this campaign effort.

For Bloomberg, reporter Kellie Lunney writes, “Along with targeted aid for the sector and ratepayers in an upcoming relief package, groups like NACWA would like to see the federal government provide permanent, reliable funding for low-income households through the creation of a program that does for water what the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) does for heating and cooling costs.” You can read the rest of that story, titled Water Utilities Seek Relief from Congress As Covid-19 Debt Rises, here.

At E&E News, reporter Hannah Northey covered the campaign launch extensively, writing, “Lobbyists for the two groups are joining forces today to ask lawmakers for more funding to deal with what they say is a massive investment gap that has left vulnerable communities struggling in the wake of the pandemic while facing the threat of climate change and crumbling infrastructure.” For more on this story, please head here.

Over at InsideEPA, water reporter Lara Bevin covered the fight for water utility relief by writing, “Increased federal funding for infrastructure would relieve pressure on utilities to pay for projects through increased water rates, which would then address equity concerns for low-income households, the NACWA source says.” To read the rest of InsideEPA’s coverage of the campaign, you can head here.

At WaterWorld, the campaign received full coverage and included this quote by NACWA CEO, Adam Krantz, “Congress has shown it recognizes the burden water customers face by appropriating $638 million for the first ever Low-Income Water Customer Assistance Program (LIWCAP) in December. But Congress must do more.” To read the full story at WaterWorld, please click here.

Water and Wastes Digest, or WWD, also featured the campaign as frontpage news the day of the launch, writing, “The campaign will increase awareness among federal lawmakers, key stakeholders, and the public around the vital role of public water sector utilities in supporting healthy, resilient communities, the financial challenges local utilities and their customers face after years of increasing local costs and declining federal cost-share, and the critical need for greater federal investment in water infrastructure.” To read WWD’s full coverage, head here.

Water Finance and Management, or WaterFM, included succinct coverage of the launch, including this quote from Adam Krantz, “It is my hope that by coming together as a unified public water sector, we can persuade Congress to act to make the LIWCAP permanent, provide direct relief to water utilities that have struggled as a result of the pandemic, and restore a strong federal investment partner in water infrastructure to meet legacy and new challenges facing water utilities around the U.S.” To read the full story at WaterFM, click here.

Water Online featured the campaign launch release, including a link to the dedicated campaign website, “For more information, please visit www.affordableh2o.org. There, users will find resources and tools for advancing the campaign in their communities, including fact sheets, social media resources and more.” You can find their full coverage here.

We will continue to update media coverage of the Affordable Water, Resilient Communities campaign as it progresses. To discuss media outreach, please contact NACWA’s Manager of Media and Communications, David Zielonka.