Several organizations representing drinking water and wastewater utilities recently wrote to both presidential candidates, urging them both to support funding for the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) at the Department of Health and Human Services. The letters to Vice President Kamala Harris andRead More

The Value of Water Campaign recently released the results of its ninth annual national poll of more than 1,000 American voters to better understand their opinions on the nation’s water infrastructure. The poll was conducted by the bipartisan research team of Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz,Read More

The American Water Works Association (AWWA) has offered its strong support for the proposed Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program Establishment Act. The bipartisan legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives would permanently establish low-income water assistance for families struggling to access affordable drinking water and wastewater services.Read More

Utility Finance Executives Weigh In On Resilience, Affordability, Digital Transformation & More Editor’s Note: Following the conclusion of our 2023 Water Finance Conference in Cleveland, our longtime contributor and colleague Greg Baird, a former water utility CFO and now principal consultant with Black & VeatchRead More

According to a new report from Bluefield Research, the combined water and sewer bill for a typical U.S. household has increased by 56% since 2012, or 4.2% annually. The report is Bluefield’s U.S. Municipal Water & Sewer: Annual Utility Rate Index, 2023, an annual report thatRead More

The Association of Metropolitan of Water Agencies (AMWA) recently joined more than 150 national, state and local organizations in writing to congressional leaders to express strong support for continued funding for the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) at Department of Health and Human Services inRead More

Recommendations Include Establishment of Permanent Low-Income Water Customer Assistance Program at HHS Five water sector organizations joined forces today to release a new report on the growing water affordability concern for low-income Americans and call for a permanent program to address the challenge. The AmericanRead More

Two prominent water industry associations representing public utility systems are urging the federal government to fund the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) in 2024 and beyond. Last week, the Association of Metropolitan Agencies (AMWA) and the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) sentRead More

The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) expressed its disappointment this week at the outcome of a nearly five-year process to significantly overhaul the U.S. EPA’s Financial Capability Assessment (FCA) Guidance and ‘meaningfully address’ the growing ratepayer affordability gap. First issued in 1997, theRead More

The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) recently released a new report showing that average annual wastewater service costs for American families increased at twice the rate of inflation between 2000 and 2021. The report highlights how income inequality is driving heightened affordability challengesRead More