Legislation to Provide Critical Water Wells Data

Published on by in Government

Legislation to Provide Critical Water Wells Data

Congressman Marlin Stutzman Introduced the ''Water Supply Cost Savings Act'' or ''Savings Act'' Legislation

The Savings Act (HR 5659) is aimed at reducing the costs to federal, state and local governments in providing quality drinking water to millions of Americans living in rural and isolated communities by promoting cost-effective community well-water systems. The Act was greeted with enthusiastic support from the water supply industry, including the Water Systems Council (WSC), the Water Quality Association (WQA) and the National Groundwater Association (NGWA).

"We are grateful to Congressman Stutzman for his leadership in championing the first piece of national legislation to provide local community decision makers with a cost-effective option to utilize smaller domestic well-water systems to meet community drinking water needs," said Bo Andersson, WSC president. "Local water supply projects completed by WSC's Water Well Trust have clearly demonstrated that these smaller systems can save the nation millions of dollars ininfrastructure investment."

To assist small communities with their consideration of drinking water technology needs, the Savings Act establishes a Drinking Water Technology Clearinghouse where the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Secretary of Agriculture will disseminate information on cost-effective, innovative and alternative drinking water delivery systems, including systems that are supported by wells.

"The Savings Act is a simple, commonsense bill that can save taxpayer dollars and, importantly, help rural communities gain access to much-needed high-quality drinking water," Stutzman said. "I am thrilled to have the support of the Water Systems Council, the Water Quality Association, and the National Groundwater Association to advance this important legislation."

There are 52,000 community water systems in the United States, of which 41,801 are small community water systems (3,300 or fewer people). EPA's most recentDrinking Water Needs Surveyplaced the shortfall in drinking water infrastructure funding for small communities at $64.5 billion. The Savings Act will encourage these small communities to consider less expensive drinking water systems supplied by wells that could save taxpayers billions of dollars in infrastructure costs.

Source: Water World

Read More Related Content On This Topic - Click Here

Media

Taxonomy