Taking the Clean Water Message to Congress

By Pat Sinicropi

In April, hundreds of water quality professionals visited Washington, D.C., to meet with members of Congress and discuss the prevailing water quality-related policy issues they are concerned about in what was billed as Water Week 2014, a first-ever event for Washington and for the water sector. The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), together with the Water Environment Federation (WEF) and the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF), hosted a week-long series of events that provided NACWA members an opportunity to learn about some of the key water quality matters that Congress and the Obama Administration are dealing with and, more importantly, to provide them an opportunity to communicate to Congress about the key water quality issues they are struggling with back home. Additional groups participating in Water Week included the U.S. Water Alliance, the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies and dozens of other state and regional water associations.