Guest Columns

By Rachael Olson Water utilities are rightly concerned about managing their business through the course of winter 2021 and into the hot summer months. This is especially true as the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic keep some of their customers’ finances suspended, just as manyRead More

On Thursday the U.S. Senate voted to pass S. 914, the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act (DWWIA). It is the first infrastructure bill approved by the Senate this Congress. The bipartisan, comprehensive clean water and drinking water infrastructure legislation will authorize strong annual water infrastructure investmentRead More

The U.S. EPA’s Water Infrastructure Financing and Innovative Act (WIFIA) loan program delivers a lot of financial value to qualified water infrastructure projects. Could some of that value be used beyond the project itself for innovative initiatives that address local water-related issues — water equityRead More

  Water and sewer credit ratings incorporate an assessment of an entity’s resiliency to manage unexpected events, including cyberattacks, which could pose financial and operating risks that ultimately affect utility credit quality, Fitch Ratings says. Event risks like cyberattacks are considered asymmetric risks per Fitch’sRead More

On March 31, the White House released The American Jobs Plan, a $2 trillion infrastructure plan aimed at creating jobs and rebuilding U.S. infrastructure. The Biden Administration is proposing a total of $111 billion dollars in clean water and drinking water investments. While the proposal doesRead More

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing that it is extending the effective date of the Revised Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) so that the agency can seek further public input, particularly from communities that are most at-risk of exposure to lead in drinkingRead More

President Joe Biden on Friday signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act, legislation to deliver additional COVID-19 relief that contains $500 million in assistance for low-income clean water customers and support for critical water and sewer investments. This water assistance funding comes in addition toRead More

Last week, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released its 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, giving overall infrastructure in the United States a cumulative grade of C-. Although the report card finds the country is spending just over half of what is needed, it’s theRead More

On Friday, the House of Representatives passed the American Rescue Plan Act, legislation to deliver additional COVID-19 relief that contains $500 million for low-income water utility bill assistance. This new funding for low-income water assistance comes in addition to the initial $638 million provided inRead More

Last week the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee marked up its contribution to the next COVID-19 relief bill last week. Included was an additional $500 million for the Low-Income Water Customer Assistance Program administered by Health and Human Services, bringing the potential totalRead More