Educational Briefing Series On America's Water Resources Heats Up On The Hill

Press Release

Today, Representative John Linder joined his colleague, Representative Earl Blumenauer, to welcome the American Water Resources Association (AWRA) for the year's first Renewable Natural Resources Foundation Roundtable on Capitol Hill. The purpose of this Roundtable was to discuss the conclusions of the Fourth National Water Resources Policy Dialogue that was held in Washington, D.C., in September 2008.

"All of the best ideas in the world won't solve our country's water woes unless our leaders take a few important steps and begin to move from concepts to action. Water certainly had its share of activity in the middle of the twentieth century. In the Sixties and Seventies, we had a Federal coordinating council, we had basin commissions, and the stakeholders were engaged with our lawmakers. As soon as we began to make progress, people forgot all about water supply, and our mechanisms for governance and comprehensive water planning were dissolved. I am told over and over again that our country only acts when it is faced with a crisis, but if we wait until Georgia runs out of water because it failed to capture and store its rainfall, it will be too late to adequately address the problem."

At the Fourth Policy Dialogue, nearly 60 water resources professionals discussed how concepts in water resources management can best be moved to legislative and executive action. The group developed a number of recommendations for updating or changing national water resources policies which have since been provided to the Obama Administration.

The recommendations to the new Administration include addressing the following urgent water resources policy needs: (1) an immediate assessment of the nation's water resources; (2) the development of a national water resources vision and overarching principles to guide development; (3) better coordination of water-related activities of Federal agencies; (4) reevaluation of the Federal government's role in water resources; and (5) use of a watershed context where underlying water resources planning is conducted with state and local entities.

The complete Summary Report of the Fourth Policy Dialogue and the results of the prior Dialogues are available here: http://www.awra.org/pdf/fnwpd.pdf

Today's well-attended Roundtable featured a three-person panel, including Dr. Gerald Galloway with the University of Maryland, Mr. Kyle Schilling with the Environmental Water Resources Institute, and David Conrad with the National Wildlife Federation. This educational briefing and discussion was moderated by AWRA Technical Director Richard Engberg. The event allowed Members, staff, and individuals off the Hill to learn about what our country will need to do to meet the challenges arising from the nation's increasing population and decreasing water supply.

Representative Linder expressed his hope that the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation Roundtable dialogue series will spur Congress and the Administration to act with renewed vigor to address our country's growing water resources issues.

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