A number of NACWA members, led by the Louisville & Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer Department (MSD), published an op-ed this week calling on Congress to advance key legislative initiatives that would increase funding for clean water investment. The piece was authored by Tony Parrott, Executive Director of Louisville MSD and a member of the NACWA Board of Directors.

The op-ed highlights the significant clean water investment needs nationwide and the commitments that utilities have made across the country, including NACWA members Louisville MSD, DC Water, Seattle Public Utilities, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, and AlexRenew in Alexandria, VA.

The article notes that passage of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Build Back Better Act, both of which are currently pending in Congress, would go a long way towards providing more needed investment and addressing growing affordability challenges facing utilities in almost all communities. The op-ed also stresses that at a time of significant  political divides in Washington and across the country, investment in clean water can benefit communities in red and blue states alike and receive broad bipartisan support. 

The publication of the op-ed is particularly timely as NACWA and its water sector partners continue strong advocacy for passage of both the bipartisan infrastructure bill and a reconciliation package that contain robust funding for water.  Louisville MSD and the Clean Water Professionals of Kentucky & Tennessee also published a similar op-ed in the Louisville Courier Journal providing a local perspective on the need for more federal investment.