Musings on EPA’s evolving approach to PFAS and drinking water As readers of this blog likely know, EPA recently announced significant revisions to its PFAS regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act, then followed
Sometimes there’s a little to say about a lot of things. Welcome back to Variable Flow. u can haz ​assistunce A tale of two memos EPA Office of Water recently released a memorandum outlining
Strengthening trust in tap water—and in government—means taking aesthetics seriously the ultimate consumer confidence indicator (Photo by Engin Akyurt) A great irony—and in some ways, a great tragedy—of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)
A new book aims to shape the national conversation Now available from Palgrave Macmillan In December 2024, the La Follette School at UW-Madison and the Water & Health Advisory Council gathered researchers, regulators, water sector executives, and community
Palgrave Macmillan Manuel P. Teodoro, Editor In this open access book, contributors explore current challenges and opportunities to improve drinking water regulation, governance, management, environmental justice, and more. In 2024, the United States marked
WATER ONLINE Manny Teodoro, Chad Seidel, and Joe Cotruvo When it comes to drinking water, sound public policy requires sound scientific research. Publication in a prestigious, peer-reviewed journal helps establish legitimacy for scientific claims
sometimes justice demands different approaches to different contaminants On the fiftieth anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) in 2024, the Water & Health Advisory Council unveiled the Madison Declaration, which identifies five
Sometimes there’s a little to say about a lot of things. Welcome back to Variable Flow. Don't Blame the Victim wazn't me Congress is considering PFAS liability exemptions for water and sewer systems under
You shouldn’t recruit survey participants through social media—or trust studies that do Waters of the United States? Every couple of weeks a post hits my social media feeds asking me to participate in a
Sometimes there’s a little to say about a lot of things. Welcome back to Variable Flow. i can haz flouride? Fluoride follies Grand Rapids, Michigan began adding fluoride to its water in 1945 to
Early dispatches from the revolution It’s been a little over two months since the Wisconsin Waterworks Excellence Project (WWEP) released the first public report cards for 572 Badger State water utilities. The WWEP publishes
Sometimes there’s a little to say about a lot of things. Welcome back to Variable Flow. u needz bettur sooer purrmit Hooray? The US Supreme Court's handed sewer utilities a win last week in
Today the Water & Health Advisory Council (WHAC) and the La Follette School of Public Affairs hosts a symposium marking the 50th anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), bringing together water sector
Sometimes there’s a little to say about a lot of things. Welcome back to Variable Flow. maybee you haz teh led pipez? It’s been a minute, I know. Water comms: moar science! Regular readers
Sometimes there’s a little to say about a lot of things. Welcome back to Variable Flow. dis water haz teh icky plastiks Microplastics: bottle vs. tap In a stunning development, it turns out that water
Sometimes there’s a little to say about a lot of things. Welcome back to Variable Flow. Battle of Helm’s Deep-PFAS liability edition Let the suits commence When EPA announced their proposed Maximum Contaminant Limit (MCL)
Sometimes there’s a little to say about a lot of things. Welcome back to Variable Flow. i can haz clean river? Tribal ripple effects Since the late 1980s, tribal governments in the United States have
Initial thoughts on EPA’s proposed PFAS standards This 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
​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
Citizen-Consumers, Drinking Water, and the Crisis of Confidence in American Government Cambridge University Press, 2022 The choices people make about drinking water reveal deeper lessons about trust in government and civic life. The burgeoning
Sovereignty, primacy & environmental protection Policy Studies Journal, May 2020 ​Mellie Haider, Manuel P. Teodoro The landmark American environmental laws of the 1970s originally made no mention of American Indian tribal lands, and subsequent
California utility regulators lead the way with comprehensive affordability assessment Wonderboy was the star of the movie, but Savoy Special won the game Between a global pandemic and a presidential election, you might have missed
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
​Contextual correlates and conservation outcomes ​​Water Resources Research Y. Zhang, M.P. Teodoro & D. Switzer​​​ Key Points Participatory surveillance is a way for governments to increase water waste monitoring capacity and achieve conservation goals
When utility regulation fails, democracy fails ​when utilities fail, democracy fails The utility failures in the Lone Star State last week cascaded into a disaster when extreme weather hit an isolated electrical grid.* But
No, EPA did not propose affordability guidelines for municipal utilities Late last week the EPA published in the Federal Register some proposed new guidelines for evaluating sewer utilities’ financial strength. In press releases and
​​Lessons from California ​water conservation​, 2019 ​Reservoirs 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
A five-point proposal to transform the U.S. water sector As 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
Water Sector Reform #2: Regulatory Transparency & Fairness Bringing together the best of both states With a major federal investment in water infrastructure possibly on the horizon, the United States has a once-in-a-generation opportunity
Not actually the author. The image is doctored, too. A California surprise: update  California has been enjoying a great deal of rain and snow over the past several months—a pleasant rebound in precipitation
Former Mayor Lester Taylor, talking about East Orange's reinvestment in its water system The Garden State has quietly enacted a law that could transform water infrastructure in America. Signed during Governor Christie’s waning days
During 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
Private Implementation of Public Policy PSJ: Policy Studies Journal Manuel P. Teodoro, Youlang Zhang, David Switzer ​Where policy goals can be achieved through regulation of private firms, private provision of public services allows governments
Bad water boys, whatchya gonna do when they come for you? Many California communities restricted outdoor irrigation during the recent drought. Did enforcement matter? Faced with water scarcity, communities sometimes restrict residential outdoor water use,
