What’s Next for Federal Clean Water Initiatives?

By Kristina Surfus

The past year has been both an exciting and frustrating time for following federal clean water initiatives. This is particularly true for advocates of a strong federal funding partnership for clean water, like the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA). The 2016 election season, which placed a stronger direct focus on improving the state of American infrastructure than other campaigns in recent memory, set a tone for active debate of how to address modernizing our infrastructure, including water. Once elected, President Donald Trump called for advancing infrastructure investment as one of several ambitious goals outlined for the first 100 days of his presidency. Unfortunately, timelines slipped over the course of 2017 and while key Administration staff continued working on the White House’s infrastructure plan, a fleshed-out proposal was slow to emerge.