In the letter, WEF and other water sector leaders urged  Congress to increase funding for the National Priorities Water Research grant program to $20 million for fiscal year 2019. The increase in funding for this competitive grant program will support transformative research approaches that will enable the water sector to respond to current and future challenges.  

Since 2012, Congress supported the National Priorities Water Research grant program by providing approximately $4 million in EPA’s Science and Technology Account. Extramural research enables Federal agencies to focus research on the most pressing national needs of the water sector. In the past two years, Congress has appropriated between $600‒$700 million for EPA research. However, less than 15% of EPA’s Science and Technology Account funding is dedicated to water-related research and less than 1% of these funds supports the National Priorities Water Research grant program and results in applied research for water utilities.

Click here to write your Members of Congress regarding an increase in research and development funding!