Policy Implementation - Manny Teodoro

Towels, not tuxedos 💻

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

Bill Assistance on Walden Pond 💻

The fourth pillar of affordability is income-qualified assistance Utility bills were very affordable in Thoreau's day! But then, he also died from tuberculosis. ...in which I lay out a framework for water utilities that

The Revolution Will Not be Legislated 💻

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

Reading the Tea Leaves 💻

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

SNAP H2O 💻

Better federal water bill assistance with this one weird trick Click here to read my op-ed on this topic in Newsweek. When Congress created a new $638 million federal Low Income Household Water Assistance

Panopticon 💻

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

Ready, Fire, Aim 💻

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

Echoes of Vizzini 💻

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

Graphic Realism 💻

Organization of U.S. drinking water utilities in a few simple figures Here are some graphs that convey a few key things about the organization of drinking water utilities in the United States.* Sources: Energy

Clean water regulation in Indian Country 💻

Sovereignty isn’t what’s on paper, it’s what flows through taps and rivers Environmental sovereignty (Photo: nativenewsonline.net) America is slowly awakening to the dire state of tribal water and sewer systems. Access to drinking water

Rapid Relief 💻

How the federal government might end shutoffs & keep water flowing during the COVID-19 crisis Can’t do this if your water has been shut off. The COVID-19 crisis has escalated America’s water and sewer

Prevent Defense 💻

Playing to win not to lose in water utility management Nature's Prevent Defense Warning: strained sports metaphor coming. It’s late January, and the National Football League season soon reaches its climax with the Super

The Plan 💻

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

Paper Pushing 💻

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

Water Cops 💻

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,

Political Decoupling 💻

A California Surprise, Part 2 More 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

Golden State Waterers 💻

A California surprise, Part I Drought porn Something 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,

Public Administration & the Border Crisis 💻

Public Administration Professionalism at the Flashpoint Presidents issue orders, Congress passes laws, and courts make judgments, but immigration policy really succeeds or fails when bureaucrats interact with people seeking entry to the United States.