Act Now to Protect your Watershed with the Economic Stimulus Package

The Alliance for Water Efficiency and other environmental organizations have been working hard to secure funding for water efficiency and river protection programs in the stimulus package that Congress just passed. River groups working on relevant water issues can be eligible for funding if they act fast.

Below is a call for action and links to relevant contacts from the Alliance for Water Efficiency that interested groups should definitely check out:

The House and Senate reached a compromise on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 late Thursday evening. The finalized stimulus plan has allocated $6 billion for local clean and drinking water infrastructure improvements: $4 billion of this will go to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program; and $2 billion will go to the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) program.

The plan states that "not less than 20 percent of the appropriated funds shall be provided for projects that address green infrastructure, water or energy efficiency improvements, or other environmentally innovative activities." The bill separately indicates that no less than 50 percent of the capitalization grants received by states be used "in the form of forgiveness of principal, negative interest loans or grants or any combination of these."

There will be very little time to commit this money, and the bill stipulates that the funded projects must proceed within 12 months of enactment. Water efficiency projects will qualify, with or without larger infrastructure projects in the application. We want to encourage you to contact your state's DWSRF and CWSRF representatives immediately to provide your list of ready-to-go water efficiency projects, and to inquire about opportunities for funding from the new stimulus plan. Your state SRF representatives need to know your projects are out there, ready, and awaiting funding.

Click here for a list of DWSRF and CWSRF contacts by state. We will also be posting the text of the legislation and other information on the funding as information becomes available.

Mary Ann Dickinson
Executive Director
Alliance for Water Efficiency