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About the CWWA
The Connecticut Water Works Association, Inc. (CWWA) is an association of public water supply utilities serving more than 500,000 customers, or a population of about 2 1/2 million people, located throughout Connecticut. Membership in the Association is open to all Connecticut water utilities: investor-owned, municipal and regional utilities. Business engaged in or associated with the manufacture, distribution or sale of products or professional services used by the water and wastewater industry may join as CWWA Supporters.
Mission
The Mission of CWWA is to promote and achieve effective state policies that assure reliable high-quality public water supplies to protect public health.
CWWA – Representing Your Interests Every Day!
CWWA maintains a full-time presence at the state Capitol to communicate directly with legislators and other stakeholders on pending legislation affecting water companies. For more than 75 years, CWWA has been successful in shaping state laws and regulations to ensure that the state’s water companies can continue to provide reliable, high quality drinking water to customers at a reasonable cost.
CWWA - Your Seat at the Table
As a CWWA member, you have the opportunity to serve on CWWA’s Legislative Committee, which gives you a valuable seat at the table in shaping laws and regulations affecting the water industry. CWWA’s Legislative Committee identifies issues of concern to the industry, develops legislative and regulatory recommendations for addressing concerns and provides input on pending laws and regulations. To ensure that CWWA is positioned to represent the needs of all of our members, CWWA’s Legislative Committee relies on Tri-Chairs – one representative from each form of water company ownership: municipal, regional, and investor-owned.
Successful Lobbying Strategies
CWWA has a long record of success at the state Capitol. Every year, CWWA helps defeat dozens of bills that would impose significant costs or compliance burdens on water utilities, including legislation to increase the Safe Drinking Water fee on customers or eliminate the continued use of registered diversions. In addition, CWWA has won passage of key legislation to assist water utilities in operating effectively, including measures to exempt back up wells and emergency interconnections from the diversion permitting process and exempting routine water main installations from regulatory approval.
Improving the Regulatory Process
CWWA works closely with state regulators to address regulations and policies affecting Connecticut’s water industry. Whether it's working with the state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection to address concerns regarding the implementation of stream flow regulations or meeting with the state Department of Public Health to discuss a wide range of drinking water issues, CWWA is there every step of the way representing the interests of our members. CWWA and our members also actively participate in the Water Planning Council’s efforts to implement the State Water Plan and serve on other water-related taskforces and working groups.
In the Know - Pending Laws & Regulations
CWWA keeps its members up-to-date regarding new and pending state laws and regulations affecting the water industry. Members receive electronic bulletins on a regular basis to ensure that they have the information they need to stay in compliance with new requirements. In addition, CWWA hosts the CWWA/CTAWWA Fall Conference as well as various workshops, which feature presentations from high-ranking state agency officials and experts in the field on critical public policy issues.
Assisting Small Systems
CWWA knows how hard it is to stay on top of what's happening in the industry, particularly for small systems. CWWA highlights information in its publications to assist small systems in accessing resources needed to operate more effectively and keep in compliance with various laws and regulations.
For additional information, contact CWWA's Executive Director, Betsy Gara at 860-841-7350 or gara@gmlobbying.com