WHEREAS, before the implementation of reliable drinking water and wastewater treatment, thousands of people in the United States died of waterborne diseases like cholera, dysentery, typhoid, polio, and hepatitis each year; and

WHEREAS, the World Health Organization estimates that unsafe water supplies in developing nations still cause approximately 1.8 million deaths annually; and

WHEREAS, technological advances by water and wastewater professionals have improved the treatment of both drinking water and wastewater in the Commonwealth, the United States, and the world; and

WHEREAS, access to clean drinking water is crucial to the health and safety of more than 8.3 million Virginians; and

WHEREAS, treatment of the Commonwealth's average of more than 620 million gallons of wastewater each day plays a critical role in reducing toxic chemicals and nutrient buildup in Virginia's surface waters, such as the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay; and

WHEREAS, much of the drinking water and wastewater infrastructure in the United States is located underground in millions of miles of pipes, unseen by the public; and

WHEREAS, thousands of water and wastewater industry professionals in the Commonwealth dedicate their careers to keeping drinking water and treated wastewater clean and free of disease-carrying organisms that can harm both humans and the environment; and

WHEREAS, the Virginia Section of the American Water Works Association and the Virginia Water Environment Association (member association of the Water Environment Federation), as well as the Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments, the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, and the Virginia Rural Water Association, support the creation of Drinking Water and Wastewater Professionals Appreciation Day; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly designate June 30, in 2016 and in each succeeding year, as Drinking Water and Wastewater Professionals Appreciation Day in Virginia; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates transmit copies of this resolution to the Virginia Section of the American Water Works Association, the Virginia Water Environment Association, the Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments, the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, and the Virginia Rural Water Association so that members of these organizations may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter; and, be it

RESOLVED FINALLY, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates post the designation of this day on the General Assembly's website.