A coalition of local citizens and national groups filed suit last week seeking federal court intervention to secure access to safe drinking water for the people of Flint, Mich.

American Water has received a Business Achievement Award from the Environmental Business Journal (EBJ) for the seventh year. These awards annually recognize companies and executives for environmental achievements seen as outperforming the market.

To say the floodgates have opened on the water crisis in Flint, Mich., would be an understatement, with seemingly worse developments unfolding daily as the situation remains unfixed and the water distribution system remains contaminated with unsafe levels of lead.

Susan Hedman, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency?s (EPA) regional administrator for Flint, Mich., resigned last week as city and state officials continue to investigate who is at fault for the city?s contaminated water distribution system.

The Cleveland Water Alliance and NASA Glenn Research Center have announced a new initiative for economic development that would help NASA Glenn form partnerships with companies and organizations that could help turn water-related technologies into commercial products.

?It may be some time before all the facts surrounding Flint are understood. However, there are a few lessons that seem apparent, says AWWA CEO David LaFrance in a recent statement addressing the Flint crisis.?

In spite of the limited shelf life of New Year?s resolutions, using the beginning of the calendar year to at least ?take stock? is simply too ingrained a ritual for most to pass up. It is therefore inevitable that a discussion of infrastructure finance themes in January would include some form of reflection on the past year. Perhaps one of the better barometers to examine as part of this exercise would be the primary source of a utility?s CIP funding ? the vast and dynamic municipal debt market.