PUD recognizes National Drinking Water Week May 7-13

Public Utility District No. One Board of Commissioners joined water professionals across North America recognizing the week of May 7-13, 2017, as “Drinking Water Week” in an effort to raise awareness of the vital role water plays in daily lives. The commissioners passed a resolution encouraging the PUD’s customer-owners to help ensure the delivery of safe drinking water well into the future by practicing conservation and protecting source waters from pollution. The resolution also highlights the importance of infrastructure funding to “maintain a quality system.”

“Drinking Water Week is an opportunity to raise awareness of how consumers can be actively engaged in their water service,” said Commissioner Dennis Reid. “Practicing conservation, being aware of how to check for and fix leaks and supporting the PUD’s investments in water infrastructure will help protect this vital resource,” he added.

The resolution comes as infrastructure funding takes center stage nationally and in Washington State. “Our PUD has worked in cooperation with other PUDs and water providers across the state to ensure continued access to very low-cost financing to support infrastructure investments while keeping rates as low as practical,” said Manager David Tramblie. “One priority is ensuring continued availability of loans through the state Public Works Assistance Account, which was established over 30 years ago to support vital water and sewer system infrastructure investments but in recent years has been depleted to help address the state’s budget needs. We also urge Congress to support funding for the federal Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) program and the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program.” The DWSRF and WIFIA were established to provide low-cost, long-term loans for water infrastructure.

In addition to the local resolution, Washington Governor Jay Inslee designated May 7-13 “Drinking Water Week” statewide in a proclamation signed on April 4.