The Impacts of the Pandemic Remain for Small Water Systems and Customers In-Debt
In the U.S., the vital responsibility of continuing safe water supply during the pandemic is decentralized, spread among nearly 50,000 community water systems. More than 45,000 of these are small community water systems (SCWS), serving fewer than 10,000 people each. Together, SCWS provide water to more than 53 million people — 18 percent of the national population — across urban and rural areas, on tribal reservations, in the midst of larger utilities in huge metropolises, and in growing communities.
Customer Debt and Declining Revenues: The Financial Impacts of COVID-19 on Small Community Water Systems
More than 45,000 small community water systems exist in the United States. These small community water systems, defined as those serving fewer than 10,000 people, are distributed across the country. Altogether they serve 53 million people across rural and urban settings, on Tribal reservations, in the midst of huge metropolises, and in growing communities.
Drinking Water Cost Assessment & Gap Analysis
In 2012, California’s Human Right to Water was passed, calling for safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water for all citizens. Then in 2016, the California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) adopted a Human Right to Water Resolution, making the Human Right to Water a primary consideration and priority across its programs.
Biden Infrastructure Plan: Water Components
Earlier today, President Biden announced the first components of his proposed $2 trillion national infrastructure plan to rebuild failing, aging, and outdated water, energy, transportation, and communications systems. While the current information provides only the broadest outlines of his proposals, and the details will have to be worked out in specific legislation to be debated in Congress, it is clearly the most ambitious plan to have been put forward in many years.
Gap Analysis for Funding Solutions for Human Right to Water and At-Risk Drinking Water Systems
In 2012, California’s Human Right to Water was passed, calling for safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water for all citizens. Then in 2016, the California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) adopted a Human Right to Water Resolution, making the Human Right to Water a primary consideration and priority across its programs.
What Role Should Onsite Water Reuse Play in Silicon Valley Water?
Water systems in most large urban areas like California’s Silicon Valley are linear and highly centralized. Water is cleaned at a central treatment plant, distributed to homes and businesses through a vast and decades-old system of pipes, used once, and then returned through another set of pipes to a wastewater treatment plant, before being discharged into a nearby waterway like the San Francisco Bay.
The Role of Onsite Water Systems in Advancing Water Resilience in Silicon Valley
California’s Silicon Valley faces a host of water challenges. The region’s water and wastewater infrastructure are aging, and in some cases are nearing the end of useful life. Continued growth and development are putting additional strains on the region, and climate change is adding to that burden through sea level rise, more intense storms, and more severe droughts. These challenges present risks but also an opportunity to rethink the design, configuration, and operation of water and wastewater systems.
Comment Letter on Recommended Updates to Los Angeles’ Safe, Clean Water Program
Investing in water management can provide multiple benefits to communities and the environment. During 2019 and 2020, the Pacific Institute engaged with stakeholders in Los Angeles, California to increase consideration of co-benefits as part of their innovative, regional stormwater funding, called the Safe, Clean Water Program.
Water Recommendations to the Next President
Every human being needs safe and affordable water, but in the United States, tens of millions of people still lack it. As the COVID-19 pandemic revealed, poor water infrastructure and the failure to provide universal access to safe water and sanitation threaten public health. Meanwhile, water shortages, poor management, and antiquated water systems threaten the nation’s food supply, ecosystems, and economy.
Incorporating Multiple Benefits into Water Projects: A Guide for Water Managers
Adapting to climate change, coupled with the need to address aging infrastructure, population growth, and degraded ecosystems, requires significant investment in natural and built water systems. These investments present a significant opportunity to support not only water, but to provide economic, social, and environmental benefits.
