Last week I had the opportunity to testify during a Feb. 7 hearing before the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on behalf of WEF and the National Association of Clean Water Agencies. At the hearing, “The Cost of Doing Nothing: Why Investing in Our Nation’s Infrastructure Cannot Wait,” the committee heard testimony from us plus state and local government officials, along with leaders representing various organizations and industries.

Being asked to testify was a result of WEF organizing a letter from a coalition of more than 90 national, state, and local organizations asking Congress to include funding and financing for drinking water, wastewater, water reuse, and stormwater infrastructure in any infrastructure package considered during the 116th Congress. It’s critical that the water sector have a strong, unified voice calling for more federal funding for clearwater and stormwater infrastructure.  

Testifying before Congress was a once in a lifetime experience and I couldn’t have been more honored to represent Charlotte Water as well as my fellow water and wastewater utilities. It was so thrilling to be in that setting talking about an important topic to all of us who work in this industry every day. We know how important it is to invest now in infrastructure to serve our customers and I think the House Committee was very receptive to that message.  

As our members have consistently been huge advocates for increased federal funding and investment in water infrastructure and Congress prepares to develop a comprehensive infrastructure package, it was essential that our voices be heard.  And this critical infrastructure funding need will be the main focus of the upcoming 2019 National Water Policy Fly-In. If you would like to join all the awesome water advocates who are addressing the challenges our sector faces on the national stage, I invite you to attend the upcoming Fly-In in Washington, DC April 3-4, and I hope to see you there!