ABOUT NACWA

The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) is the leading advocate for responsible national policies that advance clean water and a healthy environment.  NACWA represents the collective interests of America 's clean water utilities – dedicated public servants and true environmental champions. 

For over 35 years, NACWA has been the clean water community’s voice in Congress, at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in the media and in the courts.  The Association represents the interests of the country's wastewater treatment agencies, true environmental practitioners that serve the majority of the sewered population in the United States , and collectively treat and reclaim more than 18 billion gallons of wastewater each day. NACWA maintains a key role in the development of environmental legislation, and works closely with federal regulatory agencies in the implementation of sound environmental programs.

The emergence of NACWA as a nationally-recognized leader in environmental policy and a sought-after technical resource on water quality and ecosystem protection issues has paralleled the maturation of the nation's most successful environmental law - the Clean Water Act. NACWA was established in 1970 by a group of individuals representing 22 large municipal sewerage agencies. They came together to secure federal funding for municipal wastewater treatment and discuss emerging national interest in improving the quality of the nation's waters. Based upon the shared goal of effectively representing the interests and priorities of publicly owned treatment works (POTWs), they formed NACWA.  

In the qu art er century that followed, the Association grew and its interests diversified. Today, NACWA enjoys nearly 300 public agency members of all sizes and is a dynamic national organization, involved in many facets of water quality protection. Viewed as a key stakeholder in both the legislative and regulatory arenas, NACWA has built credible, collaborative relationships with members of Congress, Presidential administrations and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

NACWA’s involvement spans many issues.  NACWA developed critical security vulnerability assessment tools with EPA backing and has worked with Congress on legislation to ensure federal support for continued security enhancements at clean water utilities — a critical goal in the post-9/11 world.  NACWA has provided utilities with important tools to ensure continued competitive and responsible management practices and is a leader in ensuring the federal government’s awareness of, and commitment to overcome, the growing clean and safe water infrastructure funding shortfall.

In the regulatory arena, NACWA seeks scientifically sound wet weather rules, including sanitary and combined sewer overflow issues, which take into full account the engineering realities at clean water utilities.  NACWA also works on a host of technical issues, from pretreatment and total maximum daily loads, to support for a national mercury strategy and watershed solutions to further improve water quality.

Through these activities, NACWA is pleased to work closely with its members who are both the nation’s water quality experts as well as public servants who are the primary defenders of clean water nationwide.  It is critical to remember the circumstances over 30 years ago that led to the enactment of the Clean Water Act, and the environmental progress the nation’s clean water utilities have helped to ensure during these past three decades.  

National Association of Clean Water Agencies
1816 Jefferson Place, NW 
Washington, DC 20036
www.nacwa.org

Last updated February 05, 2007 

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