ACWA Presents Legislative Leadership Awards to Senator Feinstein and House Majority Leader McCarthy

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - March 01, 2017) - The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) today presented U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-23) with the association's prestigious Legislative Leadership Award for 2016. The awards were presented during ACWA's 2017 DC Conference held at the St. Regis Hotel in Washington, D.C.

ACWA's Legislative Leadership Award is the association's highest honor for lawmakers and recognizes state or federal legislators for outstanding achievements, remarkable contributions to water policy or for assisting ACWA in its legislative efforts.

Feinstein and McCarthy were honored for successfully steering California drought legislation through Congress and helping to pass in 2016 the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act, which included drought legislation and the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). In 2016, passage of a bipartisan drought bill and a WRDA bill were two of ACWA's highest federal priorities.

"Senator Feinstein and Majority Leader McCarthy have demonstrated remarkable leadership and dedication over the long haul," ACWA Executive Director Timothy Quinn said. "Their efforts resulted in legislation that represents a balanced compromise that was carefully crafted to achieve the coequal goals of enhancing ecosystem health and improving water supply reliability. The WIIN Act will substantially assist ACWA members for years to come. We appreciate their hard work and the support of the California congressional delegation to bring this legislation to fruition after five years of effort."

The WIIN Act is considered one of the most significant pieces of federal water legislation in 25 years. It authorizes $558 million in water infrastructure spending for storage, water recycling and reuse, desalination and environmental restoration projects in California and provides California water managers with a diverse package of tools to meet the state's water needs while protecting the environment.

"As we have seen in the first few months of 2017, California can swing from extreme drought to record rainfall in a short time. And the next drought is always just around the corner. We need a diversified portfolio of projects such as those championed by Senator Feinstein and Majority Leader McCarthy to provide the reliable water system Californians deserve," Quinn said. "No less important, passage of this legislation sends a clear message to the federal agencies: water supply matters. We believe this legislation will ensure more dependable supplies for California's agricultural and urban economy."

This is the second ACWA Legislative Leadership Award for Feinstein. Past federal recipients of the ACWA Legislative Leadership Award include U.S. Reps. Ken Calvert, Lois Capps, Cal Dooley and Vic Fazio, as well as U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer.

ACWA is a statewide association of public agencies whose more than 430 members are responsible for about 90% of the water delivered in California. For more information, visit www.acwa.com. ACWA also manages Save Our Water -- the state's official water conservation outreach program -- in partnership with the California Department of Water Resources. More information is at www.saveourwater.com.