Joan Hartley

Hartley to be Honored by Connecticut Water Works Association With Legislator of the Year Award

State Senator Joan V. Hartley (D-Waterbury) will be honored Friday by the Connecticut Water Works Association (CWWA) with one of two Legislator of the Year awards. The award is to be presented, ‘in recognition of (her) commitment to promoting sound public policies that protect Connecticut’s public water supplies, which are critical to the state’s public health and safety,’ according to the CWWA.

Senator Hartley’s award will be presented in conjunction with the CWWA’s Annual Fall Conference to be held at the Mountain Ridge Conference Center in Wallingford. The CWWA is comprised of public water supply companies that serve more than 500,000 customers, and by extension a population of about 2.5 million Connecticut residents. Its mission, ‘is to promote and achieve effective state policies that assure reliable high-quality public water supplies to protect public health.’

Senator Hartley, as Senate Chair of the legislature’s Regulation Review Committee, led the working group responsible for adopting new statewide regulations on water use and policy. The group’s initiative was focused on “balancing the state’s ecological needs with human needs such as those for recreational pursuits, agriculture, residential use, and economic development,” Senator Hartley said.

“I worked with many other people, including experts from among CWWA membership, to ensure ongoing statewide water policies would include input from all stakeholders, including the Department of Public Health, the Department of Community and Economic Development, and the former Department of Public Utility Control, to help ensure the priorities of all these interest groups would be addressed in the new regulations,” Senator Hartley said. “I’m grateful to the leadership and membership of the Connecticut Water Works Association for this recognition and pledge to continue working hard to earn their continuing support.”