Sometimes there’s a little to say about a lot of things. Welcome back to Variable Flow.i can haz clean river?Tribal ripple effectsSince the late 1980s, tribal governments in the United States have had the option
Lessons from six years of income-based water assistance in PhiladelphiaSix years ago, to great fanfare, Philadelphia Water launched a new approach to bill assistance for low-income water and sewer customers: the Tiered Assistance Program
Customer perceptions of utility quality & premise plumbing both contribute to consumer choices about drinking watertrustworthy tap?A central theme that emerges from The Profits of Distrust is that the choice to drink bottled water
It’s hard to ask for help. Utilities should make it easier.Paperwork can be burdensomeWater and sewer affordability is a complicated challenge that demands a multifaceted solution; to meet that challenge, I’ve developed five pillars
A conversation with Sabina Shaikh, University of ChicagoThe 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
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 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
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
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 trickClick here to read my op-ed on this topic in Newsweek.When Congress created a new $638 million federal Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP)
Sovereignty, primacy & environmental protectionPolicy Studies Journal, May 2020Mellie 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
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
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
Organization of U.S. drinking water utilities in a few simple figuresHere are some graphs that convey a few key things about the organization of drinking water utilities in the United States.*Sources: Energy Information Administration
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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,
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
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
Remarks from the opening plenary session of the AWWA/WEF Transformative Issues SymposiumEarlier this week the American Water Works Association and Water Environment Federation hosted their first-ever Transformative Issues Symposium, a two-day meeting focused on a
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
hyperopia (hīˌpə-rōˈpē-ə). n. A condition in which visual images come to a focus behind the retina of the eye and vision is better for distant than for near objectsLast week I had the pleasure of speaking
On the proliferation of water conferencesI like conferences. That’s a good thing, because academics attend a lot of conferences. The conference circuit is especially busy for those of us who do significant interdisciplinary and
This is the fourth in my series of posts on the recently released White House infrastructure plan.Release of the White House infrastructure plan triggered a flurry of news about the nation’s ports, dams, water
This is the second in my series of posts on the recently released White House infrastructure plan.We’re at a strange point in America’s fiscal history.Cash on corporate ledgers is high, bond rates remain at
A Resource Endowment Theory of Human Capital and Agency PerformancePAR: Public Administration ReviewManuel P. Teodoro & David SwitzerThis article advances a resource endowment theory of human capital and performance in government organizations. Building on
Water Research FoundationManuel Teodoro & Linda ReekieThis study developed a summary of the drinking water community executive ranks, including their demographics, educational qualifications, professional backgrounds, skills, career paths, and personalities. This information reveals who
Executive job formation and political behaviourJournal of Public PolicyManuel P. TeodoroPublic agency executive jobs are temporary matches of individual bureaucrats with government employers. Together, the buyers and sellers of executive labour form jobs in
