Water Utilities Seek Relief From Congress Amid Virus Debt (1)

Struggling public water utilities are launching a public relations blitz to showcase how they’ve aided customers during the coronavirus pandemic—and to lobby Congress for relief of their own.

The public water sector is being pounded by a global health crisis requiring clean water for handwashing and a cratering economy that makes affording reliable access difficult for many ratepayers. The vast majority of Americans—nearly 90 percent—rely on publicly-owned systems for drinking water and wastewater services.

“There is a growing water affordability problem across the country,” said Kristina Surfus, managing director of government affairs at the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, ...