Washington, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-Lillington), the only N.C. member of the House Ways and Means Committee, introduced the Grassroots Rural Water Systems Act last Thursday, a bill that would provide rural water systems with additional federal support for technical assistance and training.
“Our rural water systems are the backbone of our communities,” said Etheridge. “Safe drinking water is critical to the health of our families, and clean water infrastructure allows our communities to grow. Investing in water, sewer and our other infrastructure needs ensures that our rural communities can grow in the future and continue to attract and build new businesses. The technical assistance enabled by my bill will provide small communities the assistance they need to provide safe, clean and reliable drinking water.”
This legislation will ensure that small and rural communities have the support they need to provide safe and clean water to their residents, in compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act. It allows small communities lacking technical resources access to assistance necessary to improve and protect their water resources.
Rural Water Technical Assistance authorized by the Safe Drinking Water Act has provided rural communities shared technical resources to provide clean and safe drinking water for the past three decades, and have been the main source of compliance and assistance for small and rural communities to meet federal standards. This legislation reauthorizes this critical assistance for our nation’s small and rural water systems for another five years, ensuring consistency and stability in its funding.
The legislation is endorsed by the National Rural Water Association.