Public Water Infrastructure Budgets: Increasingly Growing Blue

On May 8, 2013, the U.S. Conference of Mayors released a report, “Growth in Local Government Spending on Public Water and Wastewater—But How Much Progress Can American Households Afford?”  The report documents the increasing amount of spending on water infrastructure but the growing challenge of affordability for low income and disadvantaged communities and households. According [...]

“Cut and Dry”

Federal water budgets have never been as robust as water boosters would like, even during the brief and heady days of 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulation, but things are about to get leaner and meaner. Looming sequestration cuts, fiscal cliffs, and agency “food” fights over scarce federal dollars add up to a bleak, [...]

Clean Water Groups Collaborate To Shape the “Utility of the Future”

The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF), and the Water Environment Federation (WEF) have jointly released a pioneering document that defines the evolving environmental, economic, and social roles that clean water utilities are playing in their communities. As outlined in Water Resources Utility of the Future . . [...]

“One Water” Resolution

I’m not keen on New Year’s Resolutions (especially the ephemeral ones that come and go faster than desert rain, which I happen to love) but 2013 deserves at least one good and lasting Resolution. Here’s mine:  I resolve to partner with individuals and organizations like never before to help advance “One Water” – the concept [...]

EPA Administrator Jackson Stepping Down

On December 27, 2013, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced she would resign in January 2013 after the President’s State of the Union Address. It’s common for an EPA Administrator to step down after serving a full 4 year term of a President (which is the case for Jackson, who was nominated and confirmed very early [...]

Noel Net Loss

As friends and family gather for the holidays, I’m reminded of certain water policy rituals that once played out, like clockwork in December in the nation’s capital, and I’m asking myself this question: Whatever happened to the “no net loss” of wetlands policy? I have clear memories of policy battles waged in December 2002, 2003, [...]

Supreme Court Hears Arguments in L.A. Stormwater Runoff Case

Should Los Angeles County have to get a Clean Water Act permit for urban runoff collecting in channelized river systems it maintains and improves? This is the question that the Supreme Court asked on December 4, 2012, in a high-stakes case involving permits and responsibilities for polluted storm water flowing into the Pacific Ocean. Chief [...]

Alliance President Testifies Before Congress

On March 21, 2012, Alliance President Ben Grumbles testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment in a hearing on water infrastructure funding.  He said that “We urgently need water innovation and collaboration, not only to sharpen and polish existing tools, but also to forge new tools for communities [...]

A Call to Farms

As we celebrate the bounty of the season, pitchforks and storm clouds are gathering throughout the country and the nation’s capital over agriculture and water policy and the potential collisions between the two. On the water quantity side, some of the fresh wrangling is over subsidies that distort the real cost of water, ground water [...]

Blue Waves of Cooperation

What’s the proper balance of power between federal and state water agencies? It seems to ebb and flow over time. The U.S. Water Alliance hasn’t taken a position on recent House-passed legislation amending the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), but here’s my personal take on the controversy, as well as suggestions for meaningful progress on [...]