Operators of the 49,591 community water systems across the U.S. are dedicated to ensuring nearly 312 million Americans have access to clean and safe drinking water. But maintaining compliance with stringent drinking water standards requires costly infrastructure investments, often a challenge especially for the small water systems that make up 81 percent of water suppliers. In 2020, nearly 1,800 of the United States’ small community drinking water systems were found to be in significant noncompliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act.
This LGEAN & ELI co-sponsored workshop is intended to provide local officials, water utility managers and other decision-makers with innovative approaches to planning, funding and financing, specifically for small water systems. In the first module of this session, experts from the Environmental Protection Agency will discuss approaches to funding and finance that facilitate compliance and management to protect the environment and public health. This module provides participants with information on planning and use of new and existing federal funding sources – covering options from state revolving funds to the American Rescue Plan Act.
In the second module, specialists from the Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will demonstrate how local communities can use asset management and capital planning, rate setting and other strategies and tools to achieve sustainable financing. Presenters will also provide live demonstrations of their most popular online planning tools. Detailed agenda available here.
Panelists:
Cynthia R. Harris, Deputy Director, Center for State, Tribal, and Local Environmental Programs, Environmental Law Institute, Moderator
Cassandra Rice, Attorney Advisor, Office of Enforcement Compliance Assurance, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Tara Johnson, Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Wastewater Management, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Alison Flenniken, Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Groundwater and Drinking Water, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Tom Roberts, Senior Business Analyst, Environmental Finance Center, University of North Carolina
Stephen Lapp, Community Advisor, Environmental Finance Center, University of North Carolina