Water Finance

Water industry associations last week offered a stark analysis of the continued impact of the coronavirus pandemic on U.S. water utilities. According to an analysis prepared by Raftelis for the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), revenue shortfalls atRead More

By Erin Boeke Burke What Does “Affordable” Mean? There are a wide range of opinions on what it means for water and sewer service to be “affordable.” To some, water is a human right, others a property right, and still others a commodity. One thingRead More

By Greg Baird Overnight, our worldview on public health has changed. The global threat of COVID-19 has forced all of us – as individuals, as families, as communities and as water operators – to re-evaluate our priorities. Water and wastewater facilities are re-examining emergency plans,Read More

Greg Baird is president of the Water Finance Research Foundation and a frequent contributor to WF&M. As a management consultant, he specializes in long-term utility planning, water infrastructure asset management and capital funding strategies for municipal utilities in the United States. He has served as aRead More

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump tweeted about a possible federal infrastructure bill worth $2 trillion that would presumably serve as, or as part of, a “Phase 4” stimulus package amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Then on Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was joined by U.S.Read More

Congress released a massive stimulus package last week that was signed by President Donald Trump amid the COVID-19 pandemic that could have serious economic ramifications both in the United States and around the globe. The bill included significant funding for a variety of private industries, butRead More

Michael Deane, former associate assistant administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Water, announced he has returned to the agency to lead the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program, effective March 16. Deane most recently served as the executive director ofRead More

While Congress debated the specifics of a major stimulus package last week, public clean water utilities continue to provide essential water services to their communities around the country despite the financial uncertainties. The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) said in a press release thatRead More

A group of Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives has written to congressional leaders recommending the federal government impose a nationwide moratorium on water service disconnections until the COVID-19 crisis has subsided. The request came in the form of a March 11 letter sent toRead More

By Kristy Neckowicz Recently one of our clients, an engineering director of a major water utility, made a bold claim when she stated, “Against the will of every engineer, their job needs them to also be an accountant.” I’d argue that the same applies for everyRead More