Press Release
NAWC Applauds Legislation Funding Critical Research of Water Supply
Climate Change Drinking Water Adaptation Research Act Seeks to
Preserve Water Resources
WASHINGTON, DC – Consensus among professional water managers is that significant impacts to water resources due to climate change are already occurring. The National Association of Water Companies (NAWC) applauds Senators Reid (D-NV) and Feinstein (D-CA) for introducing the Climate Change Drinking Water Adaptation Research Act (S.2970) to identify future critical impacts climate change will have on the availability of drinking water. The bill authorizes $25 million annually over ten years and funding is provided through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) working in conjunction with relevant executive departments.
“The NAWC supports Congress in its search for answers when it comes to climate change and the nation’s water supply,” said Peter Cook, Executive Director of the NAWC. “It is imperative that we understand the full range of impacts climate change will have on water availability to ensure an ample quantity of quality water be readily available for essential drinking and domestic water needs.”
AWWA Research Foundation (AwwaRF), a nonprofit water research foundation, has conducted research for the drinking water industry of the United States since 2003. Various studies to assess the impacts of climate change on drinking water supplies have found a need for a comprehensive research program to investigate the full range of impacts on drinking water utilities, water supply, facilities and customers. The Climate Change Drinking Water Adaptation Research Act authorizes the Administrator of the EPA, in cooperation with the Secretaries of Commerce, Energy and the Interior Departments, to sponsor an applied research program through AwwaRF.
“Working through AwwaRF, the drinking water industry is already focusing on strategies to address climate change issues, but much more research is needed,” continued Cook. “S.2970 is critical in tracking changes to patterns of precipitation around the world, which ultimately impact our world’s water supply.”
To learn more about the National Association of Water Companies, visit www.nawc.org.
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About National Association of Water Companies
The National Association of Water Companies (NAWC) represents
all aspects of the private water service industry. The range of our members’ business
includes ownership of regulated drinking water and wastewater utilities and the
many forms of public-private partnerships and management contract arrangements.
NAWC members are in every region of the country and range in size from large
companies owning and/or operating many hundreds of utilities in multiple states
to individual utilities with only a few hundred customers.
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