Water For Jobs Campaign Hosts Infrastructure Summit in April

February 22, 2013

WEF Resources & Efforts

The Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) continues to grow and support water infrastructure investment through the Water for Jobs: Water Puts American to Work campaign. On April 16, WEF will host an Infrastructure Summit as part of the campaign, to draw national media attention to this issue.

Campaign partners make a business case for water infrastructure investment by emphasizing the link between investment and job creation. Arcadis (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) recently joined 16 other organizations and 32 WEF Member Associations as partners on the campaign.

The nation’s water and wastewater infrastructure received a D– grade in the most recent American Society of Civil Engineers (Reston, Va.) Report Card for America’s Infrastructure; and the gap between investment needs and available funding continues to grow, hurting jobs, business sales and the gross domestic product, said Amanda Waters, WEF Government Affairs counsel. “We must have reliable and resilient water infrastructure systems to attract and retain industry, business, and qualified workers, which are essential to any thriving community,” she said.

Through the campaign, WEF is working to encourage the U.S. Congress to pass legislation funding water infrastructure. A Dec. 6 letter urged U.S. Senate and House of Representatives leaders to avoid the “fiscal cliff” and any pending cuts to State Clean Water and Drinking Water Revolving Funds and other water programs funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In addition, WEF and other water associations sent a letter on Nov. 15 urging Congress to support the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2013 budget.

Campaign partners and utility managers are being asked to show local perspectives on water infrastructure funding via videos, such as the Water for Jobs video produced by DC Water (Washington, D.C.). For more information, contact Amanda Waters at awaters@wef.org.

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