In February, WEF and other water sector organizations sent a letter to U.S. House and Senate Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee leadership asking Congress to support funding FY2020 Funding for National Priorities Water Research. Now we need you to reach out!
The need for National Priorities Water Research is great. In 2019 Congress took an important step forward by appropriating $5 million to support EPA's National Priorities Water Research program. This is the only source of federal funds that supports collaborative, extramural, cost-shared partnerships with non-profit, water-sector research institutions that address the water sector's research needs. In addition, Congress authorized a $10 million federal investment in the development, deployment, and demonstration of water technologies through the Innovative Water Technologies grant program through the America's Water Infrastructure Act.
Please reach out and urge your Members of Congress to provide additional funding to support these two programs in fiscal year 2020. Specifically:
- To increase funding for the National Priorities Water Research grant program to $20 million to reflect urgent research needs of the water sector.
- To fully fund the Innovative Water Technologies grant program at $10 million, as authorized, for fiscal year 2020.
Robust funding for these competitive grant programs will support transformative research approaches and technology deployment that will enable the water sector to respond to current and future challenges and protect American families.
