Guest Columns

Recently, U.S. Sens. Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Braun (R-Ind.) introduced the bipartisan Voluntary Water Partnerships for Distressed Communities Act to encourage utilities struggling with water quality issues to seek help from other water systems. Many community water systems, especially small utilities, struggle to stay in compliance withRead More

By Stanley A. Millan & Elise M. Henry The battle over how to define federal waters began in the early 1970s and continues today. As a result of changing policy and legal uncertainly, it is a challenge for anyone to determine what qualifies as aRead More

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently announced its proposed revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule, which addresses lead in drinking water. David LaFrance, CEO of the American Water Works Association (AWWA), issued the following statement: The American Water Works Association (AWWA) is committed toRead More

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday announced a proposed rule that significantly improves the actions that water systems must take to reduce lead in the nation’s drinking water. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced the proposal at an event in Green Bay, Wisconsin. ThisRead More

The Senate Appropriations Committee recently passed a fiscal year 2020 (FY20) Interior & Environment Appropriations bill, which funds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and key clean water programs. The full House previously passed its FY20 Interior & Environment Appropriations bill earlier this summer and now awaits passageRead More

According to a new forecast from Bluefield Research, municipal utilities in the United States are expected to spend $629 billion on capital expenditures (CAPEX) over the next decade to address increasing demands on water and wastewater infrastructure. While the baseline forecast projects a 2.6 percentRead More

According to the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), a House of Representatives subcommittee last week approved a slate of 13 bills related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Among the legislation, bills include measures that would require EPA to issue a drinking water regulationRead More

At an event last month in Albany, N.Y., U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Administrator Pete Lopez, joined by representatives from the New York Farm Bureau and the Business Council of New York State, announced that EPA and the Department of the Army are repealingRead More

By Peter Yolles and Cynthia Koehler Newsflash: our water-stressed, climate-changing world is a major resilience challenge for communities. But there’s also an upside to meeting this challenge. Building resilient water solutions can create important, and sometimes catalytic, opportunities for private investors. That’s especially so inRead More

By Kristy Neckowicz Although roles in planning differ, we’ve seen, time and again, the same handful of challenges related to the effective planning and execution of capital programs. If I walk a mile in a director of engineering’s shoes, here’s how my world would look… IRead More