PA Assembly: Protect Public Water!

Wall Street water corporations want to control your water and sewer systems — and they're working with Pennsylvania legislators to strong arm small systems into privatization.

A sneakily-named bill called the Water Quality and Accountability Act (SB 597) has passed the Pennsylvania State Senate and is moving in the State House. This is a water privatization industry bill.

If this bill is passed passed, small municipal systems could be saddled with new, inappropriate requirements and oversight fees, which could force them to privatize. Pennsylvania families could also see household bills increased. With inflation at a 40-year high, our families can't afford to pay higher water bills for the benefit of corporate water.

Send a message to your state legislators: Stop this water privatization bill!

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PA Assembly: Protect Public Water!

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Dear State Legislators,

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I urge you to oppose SB 597, the Water Quality Accountability Act (WQAA), which is legislation created by the private water industry.

The legislation would increase household water bills and strong arm small systems in privatization. Communities across the state face a deepening water affordability crisis. This legislation would impose new burdens, as well as oversight fees on water systems, that would exacerbate this crisis. With inflation at a 40-year high, Pennsylvania families cannot afford to pay more to benefit water corporations!

WQAA would interfere with a utility’s ability to manage improvement priorities. In doing so, it could interfere with actual water quality objectives. If a utility demonstrated a need for assistance to comply with these new mandates, instead of helping them, the legislation would further hamstring them, cutting off their lifelines to all assistance from the state. This could disproportionately harm small communities and those already overburdened with pollution and environmental issues.

Pennsylvania must provide technical assistance for local publicly-owned water and wastewater providers, with a focus on small and disadvantaged communities, before requiring these new paperwork mandates and penalizing systems for failing to comply.

SB 597 is a water privatization industry bill. It is viewed as a way to force small municipal systems to privatize, in order to grow the business of large water corporations. In fact, passage of this law in New Jersey was the key reason that several towns in New Jersey have sold their water and sewer systems to private water corporations.

Privatization is not in the interest of the people. It leads to higher rates, lost jobs, and worse service. And when private water and sewer companies charge 59 percent more than local governments do, Pennsylvanians cannot afford privatization.

Please protect our public water utilities and oppose SB 597!

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]
[Your Address]