Wastewater industry split on Trump's performance

Wastewater industry professionals are split when it comes to President Donald Trump's performance in office so far.

In a poll conducted by Wastewater Digest following President Trump's first few months in office, roughly 50% of respondents felt "very negative" or "somewhat negative" about his performance so far as it relates to the wastewater sector. Roughly 44% felt "very positive" or "somewhat positive," and around 6% were "neutral" on the topic.

Regulations

Responses to the Trump Administration's regulatory actions varied. Industry professionals commented on how some deregulatory actions could benefit the industry, while others were suspicious about how these actions could affect the environment.

"On one hand reducing the EPA's reliance on immediately blaming all water quality issues on already heavily regulated point sources should theoretically work to push the EPA to actually identify the non-point source contributors to these issues. Unfortunately, it appears that Trump's policies will also; 1) inhibit the EPA's ability to identify non-point sources of water quality issues due to severe understaffing, 2) dumb down water quality standards in general to accommodate industrial polluters just to increase lining the pockets of the already wealthy, and 3) wreak havoc on financial stability (and thus the ability to plan ahead), customer base, proposed development, maintenance and rehabilitation work, labor, and customer costs through the perceived border crises and tariff wars that he has single-handedly created," said a respondent in municipal government (city or county), "somewhat negative" on Trump.

"It's on the right track. People need to wake up and understand that we have a lot of work to do to cut government spending. It's not something that only Trump can do, either. We have to get into agreement that it's going to take decades of dedication to keep the country solvent. Deregulation is going to play a huge role in that endeavor," said a respondent in other*, "very positive" on Trump.

"With the DOGE "cost cutting" and the "environmental deregulation", these will have catastrophic effects for the wastewater industry and the environment as a whole. It may take generations to recover from the short sidedness of this administration all in the race to cut cost so tax cuts can be given to people who don't need them," said a respondent in municipal government (city or county), "very negative" on Trump.

"The EPA has been dominated by what amounts to religious fundamentalists. The agency is forbidden to consider costs of regulations or rational benefits when making decisions," said a respondent in municipal government (city or county), "very positive" on Trump.

"Hasn't been much out there exactly what the plan is except for lots of cuts and waiving of regulations," said a respondent in municipal government (city or county), "neutral" on Trump.

Tariffs

Comments on the Trump Administration's tariff policies followed the same theme as his regulations. Respondents were evenly split, with some stating the tariffs would be good for U.S. manufacturing, while others criticized the effectiveness of the policies.

"The guy simply does not understand economics. The tariff war will destroy our economy," said a respondent in OEM, "very negative" on Trump.

"With President Trump, we will go through a period of uncertainty, but it will benefit the nation in the long run. The changes he is making will greatly benefit the nation," said a respondent in municipal government (city or county), "very positive" on Trump.

"The tariffs are going to greatly impact our business since most of our equipment is steel and aluminum. It is concerning to watch the markets plummet as we head toward a recession and the tariffs are not being removed. The reversal of all efficiency and green measures is also incredibly concerning," said a respondent in OEM, "very negative" on Trump.

"Tasks being worked on by Trump needed doing for many years, hope this is headed in an overall positive direction," said a respondent in other*, "neutral" on Trump.

Environment

Comments about the environment split the line between "very positive" and "very negative" responses. Some people applauded the effort to rework environmental regulations while others thought rollbacks could be detrimental.

"There is new direction needed. There are several years to go to work on things and the environment will be addressed. I think he realizes that there is a need for infrastructure upgrades and that PFAS is a huge issue to tackle," said a respondent in other*, "very positive" on Trump.

"If we don't intervene Trump will destroy the environment by removing current rules and giving power to those that want manufacturing back in the U.S. Lose regulations and manufactures will pollute and overload the environment. Tariffs will cause industrial pollution to take over," said a respondent in municipal government (city or county), "very negative" on Trump.