Water athletes — from sailors and swimmers to rowers and surfers — are calling on the U.S. Congress to make major investments in aging water infrastructure to curb wastewater overflows and runoff pollution that threaten public health and put competitive events at risk.
In a December letter, 214 water athletes, including Team USA members and Olympic competitors from 26 states, urged lawmakers to strengthen the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) and update federal beach-testing rules.
The athletes say their sports put them in direct, daily contact with rivers, lakes and coastal waters, making them acutely aware of the consequences of failing infrastructure. Each year, billions of gallons of wastewater and polluted runoff flow into American waterways. Events are cancelled, teammates get sick, and beaches close as pathogens and toxic algae contaminate waters relied upon for recreation, competition, wildlife habitat, and drinking water.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, it will take states an estimated $630 billion over the next 20 years to upgrade wastewater, stormwater and septic systems and address mounting runoff problems. Current federal spending covers only a fraction of that need. The signatories are urging Congress to increase Clean Water SRF funding to $10 billion annually, with 20% directed to nature-based solutions such as permeable pavement, rain gardens and green roofs that help absorb stormwater before it overwhelms sewers and washes contaminants into waterways.
Subscribe to our Newsletter!
The latest environmental engineering news direct to your inbox. You can unsubscribe at any time.
The athletes also want Congress to modernize and fully fund the BEACH Act, calling for $30 million to ensure beaches are regularly tested and that same-day results are available so competitors and the public know when water is unsafe.
With appropriations and SRF reauthorization before Congress, the athletes say it is time to make good on the Clean Water Act’s decades-old promise to make America’s waterways safe for swimming. “For the sake of clean water — and those of us who rely on it every day — we urge you to take action now,” they write.
