Guest Columns

By Kyle Stevens Climate change is a pressing issue for local governments. The unpredictable nature of storm events and sea level rise has put a strain on already aging stormwater infrastructure, requiring huge investments to address the problem. Paying for these investments should not relyRead More

By Teno A. West & Jillian Jagling A method for public water system asset preservation is a multi-pronged approach, backed by the goal of ensuring that the assets are returned to the owner in good condition, working order and repair, such that the owner isRead More

The Biden administration and a bipartisan group of senators last week reached agreement on a $1.2 trillion “Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework” that could set the stage for a massive new investment in the nation’s infrastructure, according to the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA). According toRead More

The Senate voted on Wednesday to confirm Radhika Fox as the new Assistant Administrator for Water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Her nomination was confirmed by a vote of 55-43. Fox served as CEO of the nonprofit US Water Alliance since 2015 untilRead More

The White House last week announced the official launch of the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) housed at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS).  This program is the first of its kind designed to provide funding to help low-income households affected by the COVID-19Read More

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