The world's fresh water ecosystems are under siege, and the rivers are on the front line. We really don't have to look far to find examples of the freshwater crisis. The Rio Grande basin is in our own backyard and over-extraction and drought are drawing it dry, endangering a unique desert river ecosystem and potentially undermining the economic growth of communities along the U.S./Mexico border.

The water industry, in the past, has been the most undeveloped and abused system in recent times. The fact is, community water systems all over the country need to invest significant amounts of money in infrastructure improvements if they are to continue providing water that is safe to drink. Much of our present drinking water infrastructure suffers from long term neglect and serious deterioration. We see this every day in the news. Water born disease outbreaks and extended boil water notices in major cities have focused national attention on the dangers associated with microbiological contamination.

The people at Phoenix Fabricators and Erectors are dedicated to protecting public health and ensuring the availability of safe drinking water in our country.

So it really isn't a surprise to see the House of Representatives pass the Water Quality Financing Act of 2007, which would authorize $14 billion for the EPA's clean water state Revolving Fund for the next four years. This area has been neglected for so long and its estimated that we will need more than $200 billion to address the problems EPA's clean water Revolving Fund has in the future. This is a 250 percent increase over current spending levels. The bill extends the 1931 Davis-Bacon regulations to all federal water infrastructure projects and those funded solely by states.

This insurgence of money and attention obviously is overdue and extremely important as a manufacturer of electrical and ground storage water tanks. The future is very bright in the water industry with great growth potential over the horizon.

Our water systems are the future of this world. If we don't protect these assets, we will not be able to function as we have in the past.

How important is your water to you?