WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin today introduced new legislation, the Water Technology Acceleration Act, which would accelerate the development and deployment of water technologies to solve our most pressing water challenges, including lead safety, phosphorous reduction and treatment of bacteria and nitrates.
“The Flint water crisis, where over 8,000 children were poisoned with lead and over 100,000 Americans remain without safe drinking water, is a historic failure of government to invest in protecting a local water supply. However, Flint is not alone; there are many other communities across the United States that face serious challenges. With technological innovation, we could have better solutions to confront water problems,” said Senator Baldwin.
While there are many companies that are developing these technologies, in many cases there is no functioning market for their deployment. Senator Baldwin’s reforms would create a federal role for accelerating the testing, deployment and encouraging the commercialization of technologies, including pipes with smart sensors that can tell you when water is contaminated or when water pressure is dropping. The legislation would also help accelerate technologies to address livestock waste treatment systems, green infrastructure and updated stream gauges, which can help reduce the costs of variety of water problems, such as upgrading water infrastructure and treating manure that runs into surface waters.
“In Wisconsin, we are leading the development of these new solutions. The Water Council and its partners—from our research labs to the many companies in our region—are doing incredible work to find innovative new ways to better test, monitor, treat and deliver water,” said Senator Baldwin. “We need to strongly support this work because their innovation will change how communities respond to water crises, improve public health and help us address water scarcity.”