The Water Environment Federation (WEF) hosted its inaugural Stormwater and Green Infrastructure Symposium last week in Fort Lauderdale, FL. During the technical sessions, EPA gave a financing update, and stated that the expert consultants to help advise and inform the Environmental Financial Advisory Board (EFAB) workgroup on stormwater funding should be finalized this week.

The P3Great Lakes Initiative is seeking municipalities from the Great Lakes basin states—Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio Pennsylvania and New York—to finance green stormwater infrastructure via Environmental Impact Bond (EIB).

NACWA participated in the Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies’ (ORACWA’s) annual Stormwater Summit on May 8, providing an overview of national legislative, regulatory, and legal developments impacting municipal stormwater utilities.

NACWA’s 2018 Cost of Clean Water Index indicates that the average cost of wastewater services rose 3.9 percent in 2018, surpassing the increase in the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the 17th consecutive year. According to the Index, the national average amount that a single-family residence pays for wastewater collection and treatment is now...

A special open panel discussion featuring NACWA Board Members is set to make the case for water infrastructure investment during national Infrastructure Week (May 13 – 20, 2019). The panel—entitled, The Future is Now: Smart Water Infrastructure, scheduled for May 15 in Washington, DC—features NACWA Board Members Kyle Drefuss-Wells, CEO of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, and Ted Henefin, General Manager of the Hampton Roads Sanitation District, among other panelists. They will make the case for smart water infrastructure investment, as the White House and Congress engage in talks over a possible $2 trillion national infrastructure package.

NACWA’s Communications & Public Affairs Committee held a teleconference presentation, Crisis Communications Strategy for PFAS: The Emerging Public Issue, on May 1, with guest speaker, Stephanie York, a Vice President of the crisis communications firm, Hennes Communications—one of the top crisis management firms in the country. An audio recording of the session is now available on NACWA Engage Forum, as well as a PFAS one-page primer/fact sheet that was used during Water Week.

NACWA participated in two sessions at the ALI-CLE 2019 Clean Water Act Conference last week, co-sponsored by the Environmental Law Institute. The conference provides in-depth legal analyses, policy perspectives, and insights on the challenges environmental attorneys and related professionals in water law are facing today.

The Region 8 Pretreatment Association (R8PA) held its Annual Conference from April 30 – May 2, with over 150 attendees from public clean water utilities and state regulatory agencies. The workshop provides an opportunity for pretreatment professionals to learn about regulatory updates, hear case studies from other utilities, and network with one another.