Water Finance

By Will Sarni It is estimated that currently 844 million people live without clean water, and 2.3 billion people do not have access to basic sanitation, according to water.org. Water scarcity affects more than 40 percent of the world’s population, and this figure is projectedRead More

The U.S. House of Representatives’ Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee last week marked up and advanced H.R. 1915, the Water Quality Protection and Job Creation Act of 2021. This legislation follows the Senate’s passage in May of its clean water reauthorization package, S. 914, theRead 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

The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) and Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) are applauding the introduction of H.R. 3293, the Low-Income Water Customer Assistance Programs Act of 2021. The bipartisan legislation, led by Reps. Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) and John Katko (R-N.Y.) wouldRead More

A report released today by the Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) finds that customer assistance programs offered by large water utilities to help low-income customers pay their water bills are poorly designed and leave out deserving customers. The report, H2Affordability: How Water Bill Assistance ProgramsRead More

The U.S. Treasury has released initial guidance for the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (CSLFRF). The CSLFRF is the $350 billion pot of funding provided in the COVID-19 American Rescue Plan Act signed into law in March that includes water and sewer infrastructure as an eligible use. TheseRead 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

Last week at an address to water associations, utilities and their workers as part of Water Week, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan announced the 2021 notice of funding availability under the agency’s Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program andRead 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

Organizers of the 2021 Water Finance Conference are looking for speakers for its seventh annual event to be held virtually, August 10, 12 17 & 19. Please email your 200-word abstract to Andrew Farr by May 21. The Water Finance Conference convenes executive-level utility professionals, including directors,Read More