"Biden Urged To Back Water Bill Amid Worst US Crisis In Decades"

"Water Act proposes massive injection of federal dollars as millions of people go without access to clean, safe, affordable water".

"Democratic lawmakers and advocates are urging Joe Biden to back legislation proposing unprecedented investment in America’s ailing water infrastructure amid the country’s worst crisis in decades that has left millions of people without access to clean, safe, affordable water.

Boil advisories, leaky lead pipes, poisonous forever chemicals, bill arrears and raw sewage are among the urgent issues facing ordinary Americans and municipal utilities after decades of federal government neglect, which has brought the country’s ageing water systems hurtling towards disaster.

The majority of water and wastewater systems nationwide are also unprepared to cope with the climate crisis which is causing increasingly frequent unpredictable extreme weather events like the Arctic freeze that disrupted water and energy supplies across Texas last week.

After decades of underinvestment, a water justice bill will be introduced on Thursday in Congress that proposes a massive injection of federal dollars over the next two decades in order to overhaul the ageing infrastructure, create decent jobs and address longstanding inequalities in access to water and sanitation."

Nina Lakhani reports for the Guardian February 25, 2021.

Source: Guardian, 02/26/2021