Congress boosts rural water funding

Source: AWWA Streamlines Staff

The US House and Senate agreed last week on an agriculture appropriations bill for fiscal year 2010 that gives rural water and wastewater programs more than the regular FY2009 appropriation and more than what the Obama Administration had requested.

Here's what HR2997 appropriates for rural water and waste programs:

Rural Utilities: Rural Water and Waste Disposal Program — $568.7 million
Environmental Quality Incentives Program — $1.18 billion
Water quality research — $12.6 million
Natural Resources Conservation Services — $887.6 million

The $568.7 million for the Rural Water and Waste Disposal Program Account includes $70 million for water and wastewater programs for Native American tribes and the Hawaiian Home Lands. It also includes $19.5 million for technical assistance to rural water and wastewater systems, including $15 million for the National Rural Water Association circuit rider program — a significant boost from FY2009, when $11.5 million was appropriated for that program.

Read more in the new issue of AWWA Streamlines.