NACWA Warns Congress Against “Draconian Cuts” to Clean Water Funding in Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Spending Bill

Public water utilities say cuts to state revolving funds come at worst possible time

The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) has expressed deep concern about the potential for the House of Representatives to enact massive spending cuts to State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs for clean water and drinking water—programs previously designated for expansion in Fiscal Year (FY) 24 to $3 billion apiece through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Instead of trying to fix the growing water crisis, the House Appropriations Committee proposed cutting water funding by more than half in its Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Spending Bill.

The committee’s proposed legislation to rein in “wasteful spending” for “low-priority programs” would cut appropriations for SRFs to a terminal level, effectively killing these vital programs supporting public water utilities. The Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) is reduced from $1.64 billion in FY23 to $535 million in FY24 (a 67 percent reduction), and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) is reduced from $1.13 billion in FY23 to $460.61 million in FY24 (a 59 percent reduction). The CWSRF figure is only 17 percent of the authorized level of funding under BIL, and the DWSRF figure only 15 percent. The NACWA warned that the already underfunded water sector could not absorb additional funding cuts at this level.

According to Adam Krantz, chief executive officer of NACWA, “The House Appropriations Committee is asking Congress to cut funding for key water programs at the worst time possible. What we need to do is increase the State Revolving Funds to their fully authorized levels to close the water investment gap and help address the growing, low-income water affordability challenge. Water experts on both sides of the aisle are watching extreme rain and flooding events ravage New York and Vermont, and every corner of the country is at greater risk from climate impacts. No responsible lawmakers who are listening closely to their constituents can deny the public outcry for adequately funding water infrastructure at this critical juncture. Congress needs to put a stop to political posturing; proposing radical spending cuts like this is a waste of time. We need to get down to business and fix our clean water infrastructure. Earmarks are helpful, but given the huge water funding need they should be in addition to a fully funded SRF.”

In recent reports NACWA has noted that costs of providing basic water services are growing for a variety of factors, including the need for communities to update aging infrastructure, comply with new regulatory mandates, address increasingly complex water quality challenges related to nutrients and emerging contaminants like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and improve system resilience to climate change and extreme weather.

Nathan Gardner-Andrews, NACWA chief advocacy and policy officer, said, “Although the current proposal just represents the committee’s starting point for negotiations with the Senate, draconian spending cuts like this to the State Revolving Funds endanger the health and safety of American families by underfunding clean water services to an unsustainable level. It’s vital that Congress appropriates the full authorized funding levels for water, wastewater, stormwater, and water recycling programs in Fiscal Year 24 so that local utilities and their customers have the resources to affordably invest in water infrastructure and meet their federal regulatory obligations.”

About NACWA

For over 50 years, NACWA has been the recognized leader in the United States for legislative, regulatory, legal, and communications advocacy on the full spectrum of clean water issues. It represents public wastewater and stormwater agencies of all sizes nationwide. Its unique and growing network strengthens the advocacy voice for the public clean water sector and helps advance policies to provide affordable and sustainable clean water for all. The vision of NACWA is to advance sustainable and responsible policy initiatives that help to shape a strong and sustainable clean water future. For more information, visit www.nacwa.org. S

Anue Water Technologies is launching Anue Total Solutions™ (ATS), a unique and turnkey service that replaces costly chemicals with ecofriendly oxygen/ozone systems for municipal wastewater treatment and odor/ corrosion control at a low monthly fee to substantially reduce monthly operating costs.

Recently the cost of water treatment chemicals (i.e., calcium nitrate) has increased dramatically. Supply chain problems have also caused major delivery issues. The ATS service eliminates the capital expense and reduces costs in a municipality’s monthly operating budget.

According to Greg Bock, Anue’s vice president and general manager, “With Anue Total Solutions, a municipality can immediately push its monthly spending on wastewater treatment below what it currently spends for chemicals by a minimum of 20 percent. That’s because Anue retains ownership of the equipment. The ATS is a turnkey program, with Anue and its local channel partners handling the setup and maintenance. This is a unique and innovative program, which we believe will open the door for municipalities to start saving operating dollars and enjoy an easy-to-use, ecofriendly FORSe® oxygen/ ozone infusion system with remote digital telemetry. Of course, if a municipality prefers an outright purchase of a FORSe system, we are happy to accommodate. The ATS service is in addition to a regular purchase option to make it easy for all municipalities.”

Anue Water Technologies was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Alpharetta, Ga. Anue manufacturers and offers full operating and maintenance service of cost-effective and ecofriendly equipment for municipal and industrial wastewater treatment; odor; corrosion; and fats, oil, and grease (FOG) control applied in municipal force mains, lift stations, wet wells, and wastewater tanks. In addition to the FORSe injection system, Anue products include the more-compact Phantom® oxygen/ozone injection system (also with remote digital telemetry), Enviroprep® well washers for FOG control, and the highly customizable Anue geomembrane covers with embedded carbon filters for odor elimination from practically any sized or shaped wastewater tank.

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Wall Mount Skids from Blue-White Industries arrive fully assembled with topof-the-line components and are ready to use. Included is the Blue-White metering pump(s) in two choices: diaphragm or peristaltic. Skids are board-mounted with convenient handles to facilitate easy installation and quick startup.

One or two pump units are available and are offered with four piping options: PVC, CPVC, PVDF, and Chem Proline. Plumbing connections are threadless for a leak-free operation. (www.blue-white.com)

Compatible with leading smart hubs, including Amazon Alexa and Google Home, the Rusco Smart Ball Valve is app-driven and pairs easily with Apple and Android devices. Its connectivity allows for program automation, simplifying two primary functions: sediment flushing and flow shutoff. Not only can it be used in commercial and municipal water treatment applications, it can also be employed in home filtration and well water applications, and is offered in both WiFi and Zigbee models, ensuring maximum access to the technology.

Although the smart ball valve can serve

Al Monteleone

Work title and years of service.

In 1966, I started reading water meters for City of Pembroke Pines; I operated a water plant and a sewer plant before operator licenses were required. I then moved into plant maintenance and other related positions. I worked for City of Delray Beach, City of Plantation, Seacoast Utility Authority, City of Naples, and R&L Engineering building water and wastewater facilities. I also operated the water and wastewater plant on the lndian reservation in Hollywood. I retired from Martin County Utilities in 2008. equipment, as well as meeting customers and educating them about the type of work we do as utilities personnel.

What does your job entail?

During my 57 years, I had various positions, from meter reader to superintendent of water distribution and wastewater collection. When I retired from Martin County Utilities, I was in charge of backflow prevention and industrial pretreatment.

Since I retired, I teach backflow testing and repair at the FWPCOA state short schools and other areas around the state. I’m on the board of directors for the Florida Water Resources Conference (FWRC) and the Florida Water Resources Journal (FWRJ). I’m in charge of managing and staffing the FWPCOA exhibit booth at FWRC. I am also the historian for FWPCOA.

What education and training have you had?

During my 57 plus years in the industry I attended several schools and FWPCOA short schools and have had on-the-job training.

What do you like best about your job?

What professional organizations do you belong to?

During my years of service I was a member of AWWA, FWEA, and FWPCOA. I’ve enjoyed meeting the men and women of these associations who work in the industry and protect our environment and providing training and seminars related to the water and wastewater industries.

What do you like best about the industry? It has provided me with a variety of job opportunities over the years. It’s important to me to protect our environment and help provide clean and safe drinking water to our communities.

What do you do when you’re not working? I participate in several hobbies and volunteer activities. Now that I’m retired my wife and I enjoy traveling in our motor home, visiting our children and traveling to other as a standalone shut-off valve, it can also be combined with a Rusco Spin-Down Filter, Sediment Trapper, or similar product from a competing brand for optimum use. By properly removing sediment from the water supply, users can extend the life of filter media and other treatment components, while also protecting the personal well-being of employees. Company research has drawn correlations between sediment and health risks, including exposure to harmful bacteria and viruses, CECs, and dissolved metals.

Faced with limited capacity, it’s reassuring to customers to know that the smart ball valve can be activated anywhere with the simple click of a button. Alerts are sent in real time if something interrupts normal operation and new units are equipped with standard power fail safe shutoff—both providing peace of mind to customers.(www.rusco.com)

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Spencer Turbine Co. offers the AyrJet high-speed, high-efficiency, single-stage turbo blower as an air and gas handling solution for the water and wastewater treatment industry.

Designed for energy-efficient and continuous-duty aeration applications, the compact footprint AyrJet Series 215 has a 215 hp motor and provides flows to 5,400 cfm. The unit has a direct-drive, oil-free, permanent magnet motor and an integrated variablefrequency drive with PLC controls, built-in vibration, and temperature monitoring.

Proven-technology magnetic bearings monitor and manage shaft position for proactive protection against failure. The AyrJet family can handle applications from 100 to 400 hp, flows to 12,000 cfm, and pressures to 18 psig.

Spencer has also introduced digester gas booster skid packages and Power Mizer multistage cast centrifugal blowers. The custom-designed gas booster skid packages have a hermetic gas booster design that provides a continuous flow of gas around an explosion-proof motor, cooling the motor and extending its life. The Power Mizer blower line has aerodynamic cast components for smooth, energy-efficient airflow from inlet to discharge. (www.spencerturbine.com)

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OZ Lifting Products has launched its XR Series of davit cranes for wastewater and water operators. The Winona, Minn.-based manufacturer has released the model in 500 and 1,000 pound capacities, but the long reach of the range is a standout benefit for operators. Where other davit cranes typically have reduced capacity when they’re in the longestreaching position, this series maintains its maximum capacity rating in all configurations. This means wastewater and water professionals can lift more weight and lift it further out, which presents many benefits for numerous lifting and material handling applications. The smaller crane weighs only 57 pounds and the larger crane weighs 95 pounds. Both have a maximum 62-in. reach and maximum hook height of 87 in. (www.ozliftingproducts.com)

The new Aquaray S horizontal UV disinfection equipment from Veolia Water Technologies and Solutions incorporates the latest electronic ballast and communication technology with powerful long-lasting, lowpressure, and high-output UV lamps. The power supplies for the lamps are located inside a sealed aluminum extrusion directly on top of the module. This power bar also handles all the lamp controls and data exchange with the power distribution and data center. The self-supporting modular units are placed into a flowing channel (concrete or stainless steel) in multiple combinations to provide the required level of disinfection. Quartz sleeves protect the lamps, and as with any UV system can gradually accumulate a coating operating in challenging water quality. The system offers a fully automatic, in-channel cleaning system to remove fouling. (www.watertechnologies. com)

The Terminator Actuator from Halogen Valve Systems can be used on chlorine ton containers, as well 150-pound cylinders to instantly stop the flow of chlorine in case of an emergency. The clamp mount version incorporates the same mounting clamp design as the Eclipse Actuator, allowing it to quickly and securely be installed on ton container valves without the use of any tools. It can be used on containers feeding through a pressure manifold or can be installed side by side with tank-mounted vacuum regulators. The Gemini controller provides DC power and control to one or two terminators and can be combined for systems with larger quantities of containers. Emergency chlorine shutoff is initiated when the controller receives a close contact signal from a leak detector or included emergency shutoff switch and a relay output provides remote indication that an emergency close sequence has been performed. (www. halogenvalve.com) the TB350 turbidimeter from Lovibond delivers reliable measurements for low-range to high-range samples without sacrificing accuracy. It’s designed to eliminate the complexities of turbidity measurement and provide users with an opportunity for operational and regulatory efficiencies, no matter one’s experience level. On the surface, turbidity analysis is a simple measurement; however, there are many factors that can affect the accuracy of readings or the dependability of an instrument. Lovibond obsesses about turbidity measurement so you don’t have to and its team of globally recognized turbidity experts works to anticipate and solve any operator’s struggles with turbidity measurement. (www.lovibond.com)

ZZ Series blowers from Eurus Blower are drop-in replacements for competitor blowers. They have heavy-duty cast housings, machined impellers, alloy steel shafts with oversized bearings, hardened/precision machined steel forged gears, oil-lubricated gear and/or grease- or oil-lubricated drive sides, and keyless locking assemblies for easier timing gear maintenance. The blowers provide up to 15 psig pressure and 2,350 cfm flow. (www.eurusblower.com)

Ballasted clarification dramatically increases biological treatment capacity, produces effluent quality far superior than conventional alternatives, and does it at lower life-cycle costs. The BioMag and CoMag systems from Evoqua use magnetite, which is a fully inert iron ore particle, to ballast biological floc or conventional chemical floc, enhancing settling rates and increasing the performance of wastewater and water treatment facilities. It also substantially reduces costs to upgrade process performance. Both systems easily integrate with existing or planned facilities and are simple, reliable, and proven. (www.evoqua.com)

The Eagle Microsystems GD-4000 MultiChannel Gas Detector monitors and detects the hazardous gases often found in water and wastewater treatment environments. This high-performance detector is designed to provide accurate and reliable readings of gas concentrations, ensuring the safety of workers and the public. Featuring NEMA 4X enclosures, it’s built to withstand harsh environments and is resistant to dust, water, and extreme temperatures. Its user-friendly,

Ideal for field and environmental testing,