America's Water Infrastructure Act

The America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (AWIA 2018) enacted October 23, 2018, contains provisions that seek to address threats to safe, adequate, and reliable drinking water, and, other water infrastructure concerns. The law requires Community Water Systems (CWS) serving populations of 3,300 or greater, to conduct Risk and Resilience Assessments (RRA) and develop or update their Emergency Response Plans (ERP). AWIA 2018 contains specific requirements and deadlines for completion of RRAs and ERPs..

Community Water Systems (CWS), like other utilities comprising the nation’s critical infrastructure sector, face an array of threats from both natural (e.g., floods, hurricanes, etc.) and man-made (e.g. accidental and malevolent acts). Several events and conditions - including source water contamination, water infrastructure damage, elevated lead levels in tap water, and increasing sustainability challenges from the aging and deteriorated state of assets - have increased national attention to these major threats.