The Trump administration has eliminated an EPA program that helped water utilities prepare for extreme weather fueled by warmer temperatures, replacing it with a similar program that avoids references to climate change.
EPA launched Strengthening Water Infrastructure for Tomorrow (SWIFT) last year, months after the agency took down an Obama-era tool that had helped drinking water providers develop climate resilience plans.
It’s one example of the administration removing climate references from government programs while acknowledging the threats of extreme weather. Critics fault that effort, saying it prevents EPA from providing a full picture of climate-related threats to water supplies and infrastructure.
“At a time when a lot of the national climate assessment tools have been moved or taken offline, communities are in dire need of this type of information to keep residents safe [and] provide clean water,” said Costa Samaras, an engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University who worked at the Biden White House’s Office of Science and Technology. “Less information about these threats is not going to make these threats go away.”
