WASHINGTON, D.C. -- September 10, 2020 --The Water Well Trust, a national nonprofit helping rural Americans get access to a clean, safe water supply, has received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Household Water Well Systems (HWWS) program for projects to increase potable water availability to rural households throughout the U.S. The USDA grant and matching funds from the Water Systems Council will be used to fund more than 80 Water Well Trust projects throughout the U.S. For
On August 27, 2020, the California Supreme Court issued a decision that likely means that water well permits in the state will cost more and contractors will have to wait longer for the permit. In Protecting Our Water and Environmental Resources (POWER) v. County of Stanislaus, POWER filed suit, claiming that the county’s issuance of water well construction permits involved discretion on the part of the county, and therefore a review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) was required before
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- April 24, 2020 -- “While today’s ruling came as a disappointment, we respect the Supreme Court’s decision on this matter. We maintain that states should have the right to manage their groundwater and we are interested in exploring legislative avenues to bring clarity to this issue. Today’s SCOTUS decision clearly indicates there is more work to be done.” Last year, NGWA and WSC filed an amici curiae (friends of the court) brief in the Maui Vs. Hawaii Wildlife Fund case arguing the
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- April 23, 2020 -- Today, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund. The case examines whether the Clean Water Act requires a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit when pollutants are conveyed from a point source to navigable waters by a nonpoint source. In this case, that nonpoint source was groundwater. Water Systems Council and the National Ground Water Association filed a joint friend of court brief in the
WASHINGTON, DC – March 19, 2020 -- A co-development effort by the Water Systems Council and ASSE International to update the standard for Performance Requirements for Pitless Adapters, Pitless Units, and Well Caps -- ASSE 1093-2019 / WSC PAS-97(2019) -- has resulted in its designation as an American National Standard by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The Water Systems Council (WSC) first established a standard for pitless adapters and pitless units in 1966, followed by the development of
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- February 11, 2020 -- A Suffolk, Virginia, family of seven and a Crete, Illinois, family of six are now enjoying a clean supply of running water in their homes thanks to the Water Well Trust and its partnerships with The Chris Long Foundation and the Groundwater Foundation. The Crawford family of Suffolk, VA, received a new water well thanks to the Hometown H2O program, an extension of The Chris Long Foundation's Waterboys initiative, in partnership with the Water Well Trust and Xylem
WASHINGTON, DC -- December 9, 2019 -- The Water Well Trust, a national nonprofit helping low-income Americans get access to a clean, safe water supply, is partnering with The Chris Long Foundation and the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) to create a new domestic water program called “Hometown H2o” with the support of corporate partners Xylem and Goulds Water Technologies. Working with the Water Well Trust, “Hometown H2o” will fund and drill water wells for low-income households that do not
Oral arguments were held in the Maui County v. Hawai’i Wildlife Fund case at the United States Supreme Court in Washington, DC yesterday, November 6, 2019. As an indication of the importance of the case, the line for a seat in the audience started forming before 5 am for the 10 am argument. At issue was whether the release of contaminants into groundwater, which eventually makes their way to navigable waters, requires a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. Given the possible
WASHINGTON, DC – October 30, 2019 -- The Water Well Trust, the only national nonprofit helping low income Americans get access to a clean, safe water supply, has received a $100,000 donation from the Groundwater Foundation to fund the drilling of 10 water wells in high-need, low-resource rural areas across the U.S.The Groundwater Foundation, which focuses on local groundwater education and action, merged with the National Ground Water Association (NGWA) in 2018. “There is a tremendous need to help families
Listen to the Podcast: America's Need for Clean Water with Margaret Martens - In The Field with Goulds Water Technology. Margaret Martens, Executive Director of the Water Systems Council and Program Director of the Water Well Trust, shares the vital importance and need for clean, safe water in the United States, and how the two distinct nonprofit organizations she oversees work to bring awareness, resources and ultimately clean water access to Americans by use of private water wells and small, shared
WASHINGTON, DC –- June 4, 2019 -– The Water Systems Council (WSC) and the National Ground Water Association (NGWA) have filed an amici curiae (friends of the court) brief in the case of County of Maui, Hawaii v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund that is currently pending in the U.S. Supreme Court. In the case, the Court will consider the question of whether the Clean Water Act requires a permit when pollutants originate from a point source but are conveyed to navigable waters by a nonpoint source, such as
WASHINGTON, DC -- March 1, 2019 -- The Water Well Trust, the only national nonprofit helping low income Americans get access to a clean, safe water supply, has completed its second water well project funded by a Culligan Cares donation. The latest Culligan Cares project was completed for a single Mother in Georgia with 4 dependent children ages 17 to 8. The family had been living without access to water for over a year. Work on the new well was completed on February 5. The excited new well owner, who is