Regulations and Legislation Features, Insights, & Analysis

  1. The Case for Trans-Basin Water Pipelines 3/11/2016

    Those in the water industry know water is essential for life and brings economic value, but the economic role of water is often not as well understood by the general public. This paper reviews the history and development of our transportation, electrical, and energy infrastructure and then presents a plan for our nation’s water to be augmented from where we have it abundantly to where we badly need it.

  2. 7 Reasons Vaults Are A Bad Choice For Backflow Cover Installation 3/10/2016

    Across the United States, it is common to find a backflow preventer, whether for a fire or domestic line, in a below-ground vault. However, there are a myriad of reasons to join a growing  consensus of people that have pulled the plug and drained the pit. Living with this perpetual hazard to life, limb, and water safety just doesn’t make sense.

  3. Unique Ways Of Accessing The Clean Water State Revolving Fund 3/2/2016

    Communities across the country have been taking advantage of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund since its inception, using over $65 billion to date. With looming cuts to its budget, a recent webinar offered creative ways for communities to access the fund.

  4. Eliminating Tax Hurdles For Homeowners To Invest In Water Efficiency And Green Infrastructure 2/29/2016

    Earlier today, a bipartisan group of Representatives, led by Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA), introduced legislation to clarify that rebates provided by water utilities for water conservation and green infrastructure improvements on private property are not taxable.

  5. Accounting For Drought: Better Water Through Validated Audits 1/29/2016

    In an effort to uphold the AWWA’s mission of facilitating safe and reliable drinking water, the California-Nevada section announced a “validated system water audit” program as part of its Water Loss Control Collaborative.

  6. Water Project Finance, 2016 1/8/2016

    The omnibus spending legislation (Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016) enacted on December 18, 2015 includes a five-year extension of the investment tax credit for solar and an extension for the production tax credit for wind power generation.

  7. The User’s Guide To Integrated Planning 12/22/2015

    The Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF), the research branch of the waste and stormwater industry’s primary trade and lobbying group, is developing a set of tools and data to help communities pursue wastewater and stormwater projects that integrate multiple disciplines while complying with regulations and keeping costs down.

  8. Indefensible Data: The Thread That Can Quickly Unravel 12/18/2015

    Not all data is good data. Businesses know this — or at least should — and it effects how they make decisions about sales, marketing and R&D.

  9. Regulatory And Legislative Mechanisms For Water Efficiency 12/8/2015

    Although improving water efficiency, energy efficiency and conservation are increasingly viewed as essential elements of public policy, under most current rate structures, water utilities are rewarded for selling more water — the antithesis of the efficiency and conservation ethic.

  10. Recap: American Water Shares Expertise At NARUC Annual Meeting 11/23/2015

    Earlier this month, American Water, the largest, most geographically diverse investor owned water and wastewater utility in the U.S., played an active role in the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ (NARUC) 127th Annual Meeting,* which was held in Austin, TX.