Expanding Frontline Communities’ Access to Federal Funding
Click the link below to download the slides from WaterNow's July 20, 2022, Expanding Frontline Communities' Access to Federal Funding virtual seminar. You can watch the recording here.
Direct Installations How-to Guide
Direct Installations of Localized Water Infrastructure: A How-to Guide for Local Water Leaders
Low-income households typically do not participate in water rebate programs because the challenges of paying the upfront costs, and the processing times associated with reimbursements, are prohibitively burdensome. This represents a critical missed opportunity to address undetected leaks, reduce water waste, and manage stormwater—steps that can lower water bills, protect residents’ homes and health, and help utilities build water supply resilience. Direct installation programs can help overcome these challenges, lower the likelihood of water debt and water shutoffs, and foster more equitable utilities.
Through direct install programs, utilities provide various types of onsite, distributed water infrastructure at no- or low-cost to customers, without the need for a rebate or reimbursement after the infrastructure is installed.
Check out this how-to guide designed for local leaders exploring direct install programs to overcome access and participation challenges. Click the link below to download the guide.
Privatization Issues: Decision-Maker Checklist
Privatization Issues: Decision-Maker Checklist
Publicly owned water systems provide drinking water to roughly 88% of people in the U.S. The rate at which publicly owned systems are transferred to private ownership has remained relatively flat since the 1990s, with remunicipalization on the uptick in the late 2010s. However, questions about the privatization of water systems still arise on a regular basis, and the COVID-19 pandemic may have increased private sector interest in utilities.
This private sector involvement can come in various forms: (1) an outright sale of a public water utility to an investor owned utility (IOU), or (2) different types of public-private partnerships that involve aspects of privatization but fall short of an outright sale. Determining whether one of these public-private partnerships would benefit a public utility can be a daunting, complex task.
To help with this evaluation, the Privatization Issues Decision-maker Checklist is designed to be high-level decision-making framework on:
- how to identify the type of public-private partnership that is best suited to meeting a public water utility’s needs without selling the utility to an IOU, and
- best practices for evaluating such service arrangements.
Click the link below to download the check list. More details about the benefits of public water utilities, privatization, and everything in between can be found in the Benefits of Public Water Systems module of the Tap into Resilience Toolkit.
Webinar Slides: Financing for Innovation
Webinar Slides - Financing Innovation: Colorado State Revolving Fund
The 1-hour, interactive webinar featured the administrators of Colorado’s State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan program and the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) to deepen local Colorado water leaders’ understanding of the fundamental mechanics of the SRF program and to dig into the details about how the flexibility of SRF loans can help finance innovative, climate & drought resilient water infrastructure projects. This webinar will also covered the complementary loan and grant programs offered by CWCB. The panelists were:
Click the link below to download the slides from WaterNow's February 10, 2022, Financing Innovation: Colorado State Revolving Fund webinar.
Webcast Slides: WaterSMART EWRP Grants
Webcast Slides: WaterSMART EWRP Grants
Click the link below to download the slides from WaterNow's October 21, 2021, WaterSMART EWRP Grants webinar.
Webcast Slides: Leveraging WaterSMART Grants
Leveraging WaterSMART Grants for Innovative Water Infrastructure Investments
Click the link below to download the slides from WaterNow's August 18, 2021, WaterSMART Grants webinar.
Webcast Slides: Leveraging HUD Loans
Leveraging HUD Section 108 Loans for Innovative Water Infrastructure Investments
Click the link below to download the slides from WaterNow's July 21, 2021, HUD Section 108 webinar.
Webinar Slides: Leveraging SRFs
Leveraging State Revolving Funds for Innovative Water Infrastructure Investments
Click the link below to download the slides from WaterNow's June 24, 2021, State Revolving Fund webinar.
Water Infrastructure Jobs Calculator
Water Infrastructure Jobs Calculator
The Water Infrastructure Jobs Calculator (Beta)* is an interactive tool developed by Earth Economics and WaterNow. The calculator can estimate the number of jobs created per every $1M invested in sustainable, localized water infrastructure solutions such as turf change outs, high efficiency appliances, green roofs, and bioswales, and compares those with investments in conventional options. Test it out for your state via the link below.
*This tool is in draft form. Values provided do not reflect precise estimates, and are subject to change.
Webinar: Tap into Climate Resilience
Click the video below to watch WaterNow's May 12, 2020, Tapping into TiR Toolkit webcast.