Drinking water – Page 2

New Normals? 💻

Lessons from California water conservation, 2019Reservoirs aren't supposed to look like this.Tough water times may be back in California. After the Golden State suffered through a historically severe drought from 2012-2017, pleasantly wet weather

Introducing the Amy Poehler Index 💻

Understanding progressive & regressive water pricingIt's irrigation season, everybody!By J. Antonio Teodoro & Manny TeodoroHow do utilities distribute the costs of drinking water systems to their customers in their rate structures?The answer is surprisingly

Prevent Defense 💻

Playing to win not to lose in water utility managementNature's Prevent DefenseWarning: strained sports metaphor coming.It’s late January, and the National Football League season soon reaches its climax with the Super Bowl. Both of

Squeeze Play 💻

U.S. water utilities are shifting costs to low-volume customers—good for revenue stability, but bad for affordabilityLuke Skywalker & friends escaped this crunch thanks to everyone’s favorite droid, but R2D2 isn’t going to help utilities

Water & Sewer Affordability in America, 2019 💻

An update on what low-income U.S. households must pay for essential serviceIt's hard to come up with amusing images for this topicAbout a year ago I also published the results of a national study

The Plan 💻

A five-point proposal to transform the U.S. water sectorAs daunting as the challenges in the U.S. water sector are, solutions are possible and within our grasp. Thanks to legions of smart, creative scientists and

Water Color 💻

Water Sector Reform #5: Environmental JusticePhoto credit: EJCW.orgWith a major federal investment in water infrastructure possibly on the horizon, the United States has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to leverage that money into a structural transformation of

The Bundle 💻

Important developments in California for utility affordabilityYou probably need all threeCalifornia’s Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is working on establishing methods to measure affordability for utility service. The CPUC governs ratemaking for the state’s investor-owned

Smart People 💻

Water Sector Reform #4: Human CapitalPeople + PipesWith a major federal investment in water infrastructure possibly on the horizon, the United States has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to leverage that money into a structural transformation

Time Warp 💻

Water Sector Reform #3: Smart SystemsSewer inspectors: Old School & New SchoolWith a major federal investment in water infrastructure possibly on the horizon, the United States has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to leverage that money

Garden Badger 💻

Water Sector Reform #2: Regulatory Transparency & FairnessBringing together the best of both statesWith a major federal investment in water infrastructure possibly on the horizon, the United States has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to leverage

Grow to Shrink, Shrink to Grow 💻

Better TogetherWater Sector Reform #1: ConsolidationWith a major federal investment in water infrastructure possibly on the horizon, the United States has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to leverage that money into reforms to transform America’s water

Golden Opportunity 💻

What the Cuyahoga River Fire says about the past and maybe the future Fifty years ago this week the Cuyahoga River caught fire in downtown Cleveland.Observers of U.S. water policy and environmentalism more generally have

Making it Work 💻

A Kansas water utility gets affordability measurement right And lo, there arose from the Kansas City suburbs a mighty measurement Recently we’ve seen progress in affordability measurement, as more water utilities are using better

String Theory 💻

A trillion-dollar federal infrastructure package and a chance to reform the water sectorThis post is not about theoretical physics- Warning: mixed metaphors ahead -Observers of America’s water, sewer, and stormwater systems have known for

Microcosm 💻

A decoupling drama plays out in San JoseDo you know the way?The San Jose Water Company recently proposed a significant rate increase, and its customer are understandably unhappy. Their discontent is an ironic result

Race, Ethnicity, and Water Service Experiences 💻

Black, White, and Hispanic Americans experience water utility service differentlyThese women all seem happy with their water. But what discontents lurk behind those smiles?Over the past couple of years there’s been a growing recognition

Taxing questions 💻

Devils (and angels) in the details, Part 5The ironic regressivity of a luxury taxIn early January the California Water Board (SWRCB) published its long-anticipated draft proposal for a statewide low-income water bill assistance program. I’ve

Paper Pushing 💻

Devils (and angels) in the details, Part 4Nobody wants to talk about this partIn early January the California Water Board published its long-anticipated draft proposal for a statewide low-income water bill assistance program. In the

Life Support 💻

Devils (and angels) in the details, Part 3In early January the California Water Board released its draft proposal for a statewide low-income water bill assistance program. My last couple posts summarized the proposal and

Perverse incentives 💻

Devils (and angels) in the details, Part 2It's always about the money.In early January the California Water Board released its draft proposal for a statewide low-income water bill assistance program. My last post summarized

California’s bold proposal for statewide water bill assistance 💻

Devils (and angels) in the details, Part 1Governor Newsom (nice haircut in the black jacket, back to the camera) dragged his cabinet down the Central Valley to hear what folks had to say about

New Jersey’s Water Quality [Achievement] Act 💻

Former Mayor Lester Taylor, talking about East Orange's reinvestment in its water systemThe Garden State has quietly enacted a law that could transform water infrastructure in America.Signed during Governor Christie’s waning days in office,

Water & Sewer Affordability in America 💻

A reasonable expectationWhat low-income households pay for essential service in the United StatesThis post reports findings from 2017; an update for 2019 is available here.Over the past 18 months I’ve been working to develop

Wholesale Savings 💻

drought pornDuring California’s recent drought, the utilities that own their supply sources conserved more than the those that purchase water from wholesale suppliers-Warning: this post contains hardcore wonkery-A while ago I blogged about my ongoing

Income and Water Service Experiences 💻

Another way in which it’s tough to be poorBetter with more moneyDrinking water utilities are great, but they aren’t perfect. Sometimes there are problems. Do those problems occur randomly? Or are there observable patterns

Movement on Measurement 💻

Sometimes progress is visible in what you don’t seeEarlier this week I had the pleasure of speaking to the annual conference of the California Water Association, an organization of that state’s investor-owned water utility

Men, Women, and Water 💻

Gender predicts concern for water utility issuescoliform contamination would make this way less romanticDo men and women think differently about their water utilities? In a recent post I wrote about some findings from a

Water Pros and Regular Joes 💻

How utility people—and everybody else—think about water issuesWhere's your head at?Each year the American Water Works Association (AWWA) conducts a survey of its members on the State of the Water Industry (SOTWI). The survey

Inoculation & Therapy 💻

Yeah this stinks kid, but it beats smallpoxWhy rate structures, not assistance programs, offer the most promising path to water affordabilityWhen discussions of water and sewer affordability turn to policy solutions, they typically focus

Water Cops 💻

Many California communities restricted outdoor irrigation during the recent drought. Did enforcement matter?Bad water boys, watchya gonna do when they come for you?Faced with water scarcity, communities sometimes restrict residential outdoor water use, such as

Answering the Bell 💻

Social science and defying the choice between clean and affordable waterThomas Hearns, the Motor City Cobra. One of my all-time favorites. Warning: sports cliché coming.Boxing is more popular as a literary metaphor than as a

Aftermath 💻

A California Surprise, Part 3California’s private utilities continued to out-conserve public utilities even after the state lifted its mandate.In 2015 the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) ordered drinking water utilities to reduce

Political Decoupling 💻

A California Surprise, Part 2More drought porn (this is used to be Folsom Lake)How private implementation separates public policies from their political costs.Warning: this post contains hardcore wonkery.In 2015 the California State Water Resources

Golden State Waterers 💻

A California surprise, Part IDrought pornSomething unexpected happened when California ordered its utilities to save water: the state’s investor-owned private utilities out-conserved local governments.California’s long-term drought began as early as 2007, but intensified to