Founded by rural Americans, in rural America, the National Rural Water Association (NRWA) was established in 1976 to serve as a voice for rural communities across the nation. Fifty years later, NRWA is still committed to representing the interests of small and rural water and wastewater systems at the federal level. Between 1976 and now, the legislative playing field has expanded, and along with it so has Rural Water's involvement.
A primary catalyst for the formation of NRWA by its member State Associations was the passage of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) in 1974. State Associations and rural water systems at that time knew there was a need for a unified voice at the national level to ensure Rural Water was part of the conversation and not left behind.
NRWA's first Washington, D.C., representative was John Montgomery, a talented Princeton-educated lawyer from Oklahoma. John worked closely with rural water system representatives, State Associations, and NRWA's first CEO, R.K. Johnson, to advocate at the national level for a training and technical assistance program to assist systems in complying with SDWA regulations. This first undertaking resulted in Congress directing EPA in late 1976 to work with NRWA to establish such a program, which provided direct compliance assistance to rural utilities through experienced staff. Initially, the program operated in 13 states.