NACWA is pleased to provide its members with the Penn State Public Broadcasting documentary Liquid Assets: The Story of Our Water Infrastructure.  The film was partially funded through the Association’s Clean Water Funding Task Force and discusses the evolution of water treatment in America.  Liquid Assets

also spotlights the growing water and wastewater infrastructure funding gap, as well as an array of challenges public utilities face in the 21st Century.

NACWA has been working with the Water Environment Federation (WEF), the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and others to encourage local Public Broadcasting System (PBS) stations to air the documentary, which includes interviews with the heads of several NACWA member agencies, mayors, and others who detail the pending crisis cities face regarding their aging and crumbling water and wastewater infrastructure.  The DVD contains the full 90-minute video, a 20-minute version with highlights, and a 3-minute preview.

Liquid Assets Scheduled to Air Across Country

Currently, there are 45 scheduled airings of Liquid Assets on local PBS stations across the nation.  To see when Liquid Assets will be shown in your area click here (PDF).  If your area is not yet scheduled to have Liquids Assets shown, please contact your local PBS station and send a letter (DOC) explaining the infrastructural challenges your community faces as well as the host of increasing regulatory requirements and encouraging station program managers to add it to their programming schedules.  NACWA also encourages its members to consider underwriting individual airings of Liquid Assets on local PBS stations.  This will ensure the broadest possible airing of the program and bolster NACWA’s advocacy efforts for increased federal funding.

The Liquid Assets website is a valuable resource that features a Community Toolkit which can be used to promote the broadcast of the documentary within an individual community.  It includes a community discussion guide, tips on planning and moderating events, video resources, chapter summaries, and frequently asked questions relating to the film and water infrastructure.  The website’s Outreach Guide can also help municipalities build upon the interest and public awareness raised by the documentary to facilitate a discussion on how best to address these critical water and wastewater infrastructure issues in sustainable and cost-effective ways.

Liquid Assets Premieres in Washington, D.C. to over 250 Guests

Liquid Assets premiered on Sept. 9, 2008, at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., to a crowd of more than 250 invited guests.  The event was sponsored by NACWA and several other organizations and featured remarks by Reps. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, and John Boozman (R-Ark.), ranking member of the subcommittee, as well as Benjamin Grumbles, assistant administrator for water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Each focused on the importance of water and wastewater infrastructure to the environment, public health, and the economy.  Johnson and Boozman pledged to contact PBS stations in their home districts to ensure that their constituents have the opportunity to view this important documentary and discussed the possibility of establishing a clean water trust fund to meet clean water challenges.  They also sent a letter to all 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives urging them and their staffs to view the Liquid Assets documentary during its broadcast in Washington, D.C.  NACWA hopes that this will help increase awareness about Liquid Assets on Capitol Hill and plans to promote the video in the 111th Congress.

Again, NACWA strongly encourages its members to contact their local PBS station and ask that this important documentary be aired in your communities if it is not already scheduled.  Please contact Susie Bruninga, NACWA’s director of legislative and public affairs, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information on Liquid Assets.

 

Enclosure (via hard-copy mailing only):  Liquid Assets: The Story of Our Water Infrastructure