Singapore International Water Week (SIWW), held June 1-5, attracted more than 20,000 participants from 118 countries/regions spanning the government, international organizations, industry, and academia sectors.

On May 15, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) reintroduced the Sustainable Water Infrastructure Investment Act to the Senate. The bill is identical to the water private activity bond (PAB) legislation introduced by Reps. John Duncan (R-Tenn.) and Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) in March.

President Obama has signed into law the Water Resources and Reform Development Act, which includes the new Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Authority. Supported by AWWA and other water organizations, WIFIA is a new finance tool to help communities address essential water and wastewater infrastructure projects

As the City of Detroit considers the possible privatization of its water and sewer department, Gov. Rick Snyder told the Detroit Free Press on Wednesday that privatizing the whole system may not be practical.

On June 2, SWIC members joined PAB bill sponsors Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) to hear the Congressmen outline and discuss their water and wastewater finance legislation, the Sustainable Water Infrastructure Investment Act of 2014, H.R. 4237 and S.2345.

IDModeling, Inc., a provider of smart water network software and services, announced last week the spring release of its flagship network management software, Sedarū. This release brings modeling benefits to water utility professionals everywhere, featuring tools that calculate, map and alert ?What Happens Next? from anywhere, on any device.

The AWWA, AMWA and WEF have sent joint letters to appropriations committees in both the House and the Senate seeking full funding for the new WIFIA and for the existing State Revolving Fund programs for fiscal year 2015.

In an important development for the future of cybersecurity in the water sector, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has indicated it will pursue a voluntary partnership model to manage cybersecurity risks at water utilities.

Innovyze has announced that Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) in Washington has chosen the company?s InfoWater to support its large-scale, enterprise-wide geospatial water distribution network modeling and management needs.

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.