WE are the experts.  

Let’s speak with a loud, united voice. Speak up. Share your knowledge. It is more important now than ever. Inform government decision-makers and the public about the importance of water. 

Aging infrastructure, strict requirements, and continued economic pressures have put unprecedented stress on local governments and agencies that provide essential water services. Elected officials are being called upon to make tough choices that will impact water quality and the viability of our communities for generations to come.

We know there is a better path—a path that leads to public appreciation for the value of water, investment in our essential water infrastructure, and a better quality of life for our states and communities.

WEF’s Water Advocates Program is a simple and effective way for you to become more involved with engaging elected officials and the public on important water issues. The Water Advocates Program provides training and engagement to promote grassroots advocacy before elected officials and the public with the goal of creating a network of trained water advocates in every state.

Email Amy Kathman to join the Water Advocates program:  [email protected]ef.org 

Include your name, title, organization, address, e-mail, and telephone number. After you sign up, you will be in the Water Advocates program and receive important announcements about actions you can take to help.

Water needs YOUR voice. Sign up to be a Water Advocate.

Log on to the WEFCOM community titled "Water Advocates" and join the community.

Support Including Water Infrastructure Funding in Coronavirus Relief Package

Please reach out to your Members of Congress and ask that funding for water infrastructure be included in the coronavirus relief package.

Specifically, Congress should provide assistance in three specific areas:

• $4 billion to help low-income and unemployed ratepayers during the coronavirus crisis;
• $26 billion in aid to drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater utilities for steep revenue losses from commercial and industrial clients, and;
• At least $73 billion in assistance for water infrastructure construction to help stimulate the economy as the nation recovers from the crisis.

The COVID‐19 pandemic underscores the critical importance of clean, safe water in ensuring proper sanitation and hygiene to protect public health. Families, businesses, hospitals and first responders around the country are counting on drinking water and clean water agencies to help save lives and keep people healthy. Utilities are working around the clock to ensure customers have safe and reliable water services while keeping their own essential workforce safe.

The drinking water and clean water sectors are facing major losses in revenue and significant costs for maintaining services to low income and financially vulnerable households during the pandemic. The sector is committed to providing service to all households during the pandemic regardless of ability to pay. But this does not come without cost—and as revenues fall, utilities may face hard decisions regarding how to address shortfalls including potentially delaying planned water infrastructure investments, impacts to staffing, and facing new pressures to raise rates at a time many households can ill‐afford rate increases. As Congress responds to the COVID‐19 crisis, significant funding should be allocated to help offset revenue losses by water and wastewater utilities and to support the continuation of services to all users.

As Congress develops a comprehensive proposal, we urge we must urge them to remember that water infrastructure is often co-located with transportation infrastructure, such as roadways and bridges. When roadways are dug up or bridges rebuilt, it would be less expensive to rehabilitate water lines at that point in time instead of digging them up again. In addition, the cost of water service to low-income customers is an increasing concern and the U.S. federal contributions to water infrastructure finance help local utilities cushion the costs of water service to customers.

Cost-effective infrastructure repair and replacement can have an enormous impact on the quality of life for communities across the U.S., as well as give our nation business and economic advantages in the global marketplace. This in turn, can help our country as we work to combat the coronavirus itself and the damage it may leave behind.

Please click below to reach out to your Members today!

Support Including Water Infrastructure Funding in the Coronavirus Relief Package

Look for more advocacy letters in 2021 as the 117th Congress and new Administration get to work!

This will include:  Infrastructure Funding, COVID Relief funding, PFAS, WRDA, FY22 Appropriations, NPDES permit terms, resource recovery and more. 

If you have any questions or suggestions, please reach out to Amy Kathman at [email protected] .