Water Quality Leadership Awards announced during Summit
LISLE, Ill. – U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) have been honored with Water Quality Leadership Awards for their work to improve access to safer, healthier drinking water across the country. The presentations came during the annual Water Resources Congressional Summit, hosted by the Water Quality Association and the National Groundwater Association on May 7 as part of Drinking Water Week.
WQA is grateful to Sen. Collins and Rep. Pingree for their leadership on water policy issues, both in their home state and across the country,” said WQA Government Affairs Director Jeremy Pollack. “We applaud their work to help improve water in rural communities through their sponsorship of the Healthy H2O Act.”
Collins, serving her fifth senate term, is Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and ex officio member of the United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development. Her longstanding interest in health and health care has inspired her efforts in diabetes research, Alzheimer’s, and prescription drug affordability.
Pingree sits on the House Appropriations Committee and chairs the Subcommittee on Interior and the Environment and the Subcommittee on Agriculture. She is also a member of the House Agriculture Committee and recently secured funding to improve water resource resiliency in Maine. Pingree is serving her seventh House term.
Collins and Pingree are among the sponsors of the Healthy Drinking Water Affordability Act – commonly known as the Healthy H2O Act – which would establish a new program at the USDA to improve drinking water quality in rural areas including for those who depend on private wells.
The grants would cover the costs of water quality testing in communities. If the presence of one or more health contaminants is detected, grants would also be made available for the purchase, installation, and maintenance of point-of-use and point-of-entry water filtration systems certified to address them.
Nearly 100 people attended this year’s Summit, including lawmakers, government officials, and officials from non-profits. WQA members met with lawmakers and their staffs in small-group sessions the next day, May 8.
WQA is marking 50 years (1974-2024) as a not-for-profit trade association representing the residential, commercial, and industrial water treatment industry. WQA’s education and professional certification programs have been providing industry-standardized training and credentialing since 1977. The WQA Gold Seal certification program has been certifying products that contribute to the safe consumption of water since 1959. The WQA Gold Seal program is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Standards Council of Canada (SCC). WQA publishes a consumer-friendly website, BetterWaterToday.org
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