AWWA Water ScienceManuel P. Teodoro​The ability of low-income families to pay for basic water and sewer services is a subject of increasing concern. Large-scale assessments of affordability across large numbers of American utilities are


​AWWA Water ScienceManuel P. Teodoro and Robin Rose Saywitz​This study uses contemporary metrics and data from an original, representative sample of water and sewer utilities in the United States to calculate the affordability of


Initial thoughts on EPA’s proposed PFAS standardsThis is a perfluorooctanesulfonic acid molecule. It's kind of cute! Almost.As regular readers of this blog are likely aware, this week EPA announced proposed Maximum Contaminant Limits (MCLs)


​A conversation with Sabina Shaikh, University of Chicago​The burgeoning bottled water industry presents a paradox: Why do people choose expensive, environmentally destructive bottled water, rather than cheaper, sustainable, and more rigorously regulated tap water?


A thought experiment and back-of-envelope illustrationWater/sewer utility customer assistance programs (CAPs) don’t run themselves. When utilities use rate revenue to pay for CAPs, administrative costs can quickly eat into benefits that such programs can


Administratively costly assistance programs can hurt more than they helpperpetually stylish. timelessly true.Water and sewer affordability is a complicated challenge that demands a multifaceted solution; to meet that challenge, I’ve developed five pillars of


How much assistance should each customer get?When things get hot, coverage matters more than fitCustomer assistance programs (CAPs) form the fourth pillar of affordability strategy. Previous posts described the first three pillars of affordability—quality,


The fourth pillar of affordability is income-qualified assistancesimplify, simplify, simplify...in which I lay out a framework for water utilities that want to set up customer assistance programs.​This is the latest in a series of


Sustainable solutions for Jackson, MississippiNot a sustainable solution. (Photo credit: Mississippitoday.org)National attention is back on drinking water utilities, and once again for all the wrong reasons. As readers of this blog surely know by now,


Cambridge University Press, 2022The choices people make about drinking water reveal deeper lessons about trust in government and civic life.The burgeoning bottled water industry presents a paradox: Why do people choose expensive, environmentally destructive


The third pillar of affordability is Rate Design“Affordable” means different things in different contextsThis post is the third in a series outlining five pillars of affordability strategy for water and sewer utilities. None of


The second pillar of affordability is EfficiencyOne of these matters more than the otherThis post is the second in a series outlining five pillars of affordability strategy for water and sewer utilities. Together, these pillars


The first pillar of affordability is QualityGotta count the bottles and the billsSo long as water and sewer services operate on a fee-for-service basis, ensuring that these critical services are affordable will remain a


Gendered and partisan responses to proposed rate increases[An absurdly busy couple of months has kept me away from the blogosphere—sorry. Will try to get back into a regular groove now]Winning public support for investments


AWWA Water Science, March 2022This study uses an embedded survey experiment to evaluate the effects of issue framing on willingness to pay water and sewer rate increases. Government-owned utilities require public support for financial


Ramiro Berardo, Director...And Water For All is an educational documentary about water affordability in Ohio. The film aims to amplify the voices of those who work toward providing clean, affordable water for all. Even


The science of talking about water rate increasesIt’s not about the water tower—it’s about what’s insideStrictly from a value standpoint, it’s hard to imagine anything that provides more bang for the buck than well-built


Notes on the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Part IIIWater professionals of America, unite!Late last year Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, authorizing $63.3 billion


Notes on the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Part II*The Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act is 1,039 pages long. That’s a lot of tea.The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, better known as the Bipartisan


Notes on the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Part INo need for air conditioningIn November President Biden signed the long-awaited $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) better known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.


How much consolidation is enough?You know it when you hit the sweet spot.There’s a growing consensus that there are way too many water utilities in the United States.America’s 50,000 community water systems are operated


Better federal water bill assistance with this one weird trickKeys to affordable water bills?When Congress created a new $638 million federal Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) last December, it was part of


How to stop taxing waterIt’s hard to know exactly how much money Americans are paying in taxes at the tap, but it’s a lot. Last time I described the variety of ways that governments


Sovereignty, primacy & environmental protectionPolicy Studies Journal, May 2020​Mellie Haider, Manuel P. TeodoroThe landmark American environmental laws of the 1970s originally made no mention of American Indian tribal lands, and subsequent research on environmental


Collecting tax revenue through water bills hurts affordability & turns utilities into coercive agents of governmentCan you find the tax?They may not realize it, but tens of millions of Americans pay taxes on the


California utility regulators lead the way with comprehensive affordability assessmentWonderboy was the star of the movie, but Savoy Special won the gameBetween a global pandemic and a presidential election, you might have missed it, but


What happens when governments ask the public to report water waste?Ever feel like you're being watched?Rainfall has been low, the mountain snowpack is thin, and Californians are bracing for another year of scarcity. But


​Contextual correlates and conservation outcomes​​Water Resources Research Y. Zhang, M.P. Teodoro & D. Switzer​​​Key PointsParticipatory surveillance is a way for governments to increase water waste monitoring capacity and achieve conservation goalsSocial and institutional aspects


On the limits of means-tested assistance programs for water & sewerRed Sox legend Ted Williams was the last player to bat over .400... in 1941**Warning: sports metaphor ahead**Like hitting a baseball, running a means-tested


When utility regulation fails, democracy failsPhoto: Texas TribuneThe utility failures in the Lone Star State last week cascaded into a disaster when extreme weather hit an isolated electrical grid.* But more than a natural


Managing the $638 million low-income water & sewer assistance in the federal COVID relief packageNow what?As frequent readers of this page likely know, the COVID relief bill that Congress passed in December included $638


Confluence. [kän-flü-ən(t)s]. n. A coming or flowing together, meeting, or gathering at one point.Water is a big deal in Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania is a swing state. Am I being to subtle?More evidence that, in a


Why water should be the Biden Administration’s top environmental priorityEvidently the president-elect is confident managing stormwater.The Biden administration’s environmental policy priorities are likely to be quite different from the Trump administration’s, and the impending


No, EPA did not propose affordability guidelines for municipal utilitiesAffordability!Late last week the EPA published in the Federal Register some proposed new guidelines for evaluating sewer utilities’ financial strength. In press releases and public


​About that water affordability study in The Guardian...Water is a ZILLION PERCENT unaffordable! Also, aliens.The Guardian recently published a big story on water utility affordability in the United States. The headline was shocking: “Millions of