RCAP, Xylem, 120Water provide face masks to essential utility workers

The Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) announced in July it was sourcing and donating 40,000 N95 masks to frontline water operators in partnership with Xylem Watermark and 120Water. In August, Xylem donated an additional 65,000 which RCAP was able to coordinate with 120Water to distribute in response to continued spikes seen in rural communities. By November 2020, 105,000 masks had been distributed to utilities in 46 states, and Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Of the requests, 88 percent came from communities with drinking water or wastewater systems serving populations of 3,300 or less. There are approximately 150,000 public water systems across the United States, and 97 percent of them serve communities of 10,000 or less – the majority of which provide services to 3,300 or fewer users.