oEPA

Water Affordability Needs Assessment

Nonprofits, NGOs, & CBOs

Session 1 - Capturing the Extent and Impact of Water Affordability to Households and
Utilities I March 28th, 2024

Background and Introduction

In the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA), Section 50108, [42 U.S.C. 300j-19a],
Congress directed the U.S. EPA to produce a Water Affordability Needs Assessment Report to
Congress. In producing the report and as directed in Section 50108 of the IIJA, EPA gathered
stakeholder input from a diverse group of experts in the water affordability field, including utilities,
associations, academia, nonprofits, community-based organizations (CBOs), advocacy groups,
and the public. These stakeholders included experts who have spent decades working to address
water affordability challenges across the U.S.

In March and April 2024, EPA hosted two series of targeted Stakeholder Listening Sessions, each
series consisting of three sessions. One series focused on gaining perspectives from water
associations and utilities, while the other focused on feedbackfrom nonprofit and advocacy
communities. EPA invited participants from water utilities and associations, including rural
advocacy associations, as well as select nonprofits, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and
CBOs, to participate in these sessions. EPA provided the stakeholders with background on this
report, solicited feedbackfrom stakeholders on proposed data sources and EPA's data analysis
approach, enlisted stakeholder assistance in case study development and review, and discussed
recommendations for addressing affordability challenges nationwide.

This document summarizes the first listening session for invited participants from select
nonprofits, NGOs, and CBOs which was held on March 28, 2024.

The purpose of this first listening session was to provide an opportunity for nonprofits, NGOs, and
CBOs to hear an overview of the Needs Assessment Report and share their feedback. Specific
session objectives included:

•	Review the background on the Water Affordability Needs Assessment Report.

•	Highlight resources and tools to be included in the report.

•	Request case studies from participants that highlight water affordability in their
communities.

•	Preview the Session 2 topics of affordability definitions, benchmarking, and data.

Listening Session Summary

Publication Number: EPA-830-S-24-003	Water Affordability ListeningSession 1 1


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Important Aspects of Water Affordability

Ellen Tarquinio (U.S. EPA) opened the session by welcoming participants and invitingthem to use
the meeting chat to share their responses to the question, "What is the most important aspect of
water affordability that you want to see captured?" Attendees noted the following concepts as the
most important aspects of affordability to them:

•	Consideration of affordability for the lowest income consumers and affordable water
services for every community, supported by a federal low-income water
assistance program.

•	Addressing residential shutoffs and ensuringthat the lowest-income households are
treated with dignity and respect in providing service.

•	That utilities have some way they can fund the effective, safe, and efficient management of
the water system even if customers are unable to pay enough to cover the cost of service.

•	Ensuring data gathered and used in the report is of sufficient quality and representative of
all sizes of utilities across the U.S.

Water Aff orda bility N eeds Assessment

Ellen Tarquinio then provided an overview of the scope of the Water Affordability Needs
Assessment Report. Key highlights from her presentation are as follows.

•	The EPA was directed by Congress to conduct this needs assessment and provide an
understanding of the impact of the water affordability burden felt across the U.S. among
households and utilities, as directed in the IIJA, Section 50108. IIJA also requires EPA to
recommend methods for increasing affordable access to water services.

•	The Water Affordability Needs Assessment is focused on providing a national picture of the
impact of water burden on households and utilities.

•	The direction for the Needs Assessment can be viewed in three components:

o The first component of the report examines the percentage of utilities that serve a
disproportionate percentage of households that qualify as high water burden or the
percent of utilities that have taken on an unsustainable level of debt due to large
customer arrearages.

o The second component focuses on examining the definitions of'affordability', 'lack
of access to affordable water,'and number of households impacted by high water
rates. Further direction recommended an analysis of the size of arrearages,
disconnection rates and fees, and tax lien data.

o The thirdcomponentexploresthe scopeand extent of wateraffordability challenges
in the U.S. and requires EPA to provide recommendations, including program costs,
associated with addressing this challenge.

Publication Number: EPA-830-S-24-003

Water Affordability ListeningSession 2


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Facilitators then invited participants to ask questions about the scope of the Needs Assessment.
Highlights of the participant discussion and EPA responses are as follows.

•	Multiple Pathways to Achieve Affordability. In addition to exploring ways to address the
affordability challenges through ratepayer assistance, EPA intends for the report
recommendations to include other potential tools to meet the needs of water utilities.
These might include equitable rate structures, using capital fundingto reduce revenue
requirements, etc.

•	Affordability for Renters. Ideally, the report will include an examination of the impact of
water affordability on renters; however, data in this area is challenging to find. EPA
encouraged participants to reach out with any resources or recommendations for how to
research this topic.

•	AccessingNon-PubliclyAvailable Data from Water Utilities. EPA will not attempt a
compilation of data from all utilities in the U.S. Publicly available data will be drawn on to
the extent possible, and utilities and associations are encouraged to voluntarily share
their data.

•	State-Level Policies to Address Affordability. The report will not address state-level policies
and effortsto address affordability, such as state-levelcustomerassistance programs. EPA
is focused primarily on national recommendations. The report will not include
recommendations on how states should address water affordability.

•	Approaches for Measuring Affordability. The report will not produce a new definition for
water affordability; instead, it will summarize recommendations from many different
sources on the criteria that could be used to define it. EPA is interested in input from
participants on how to capture the impact of the cost of water on households.

Engagement Approach

Ellen Tarquinio (U.S. EPA) then provided an overview of EPA's approach to engaging with key
stakeholders. Key highlights from her presentation are as follows.

•	EPA plans to rely on existing data sources to develop this study, such as the Low-Income
Household Water Assistance Program (LI HWAP) assessment, EPA's other needs
assessments/surveys, several state surveys and rates dashboards, Census household
datasetssuch as the American Community Survey, utility-specific water rate data, financial
reviews, and input from stakeholder partners.

•	The report will also mention affordability definitions and criteria used by states in the Clean
Waterand DrinkingWaterState RevolvingFund programs, Financial Capability Assessment
Guidance, commonly used definitions by industry groups, as well as stakeholder input.

Facilitators then invited participants to ask questions about the engagement approach. Highlights
of the participant discussion and EPA responses are as follows.

•	Lessons Learned from Other Programs. A participant encouraged EPA to reach out to state
agencies that implemented LIHWAP, and customer action agencies that implemented the
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

Publication Number: EPA-830-S-24-003

Water Affordability ListeningSession 3


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•	Facilitating Joint Conversation. In response to a participant suggestion, EPA indicated that
as they continue working on recommendations, they will plan to organize some smaller
focus groups to supplement these listening sessions and ensure that many perspectives
are heard.

Existing Resources/References/Case Studies

Jean Ray (U.S. EPA) provided an overview of the resources and references that will be utilized in the
report. Key highlights from her presentation are as follows.

•	The report will build on the vast amount of research and resources that have focused on
addressi ng water affordability. The intent is to leverage existing datasets, while filling gaps in
particular areas such as disconnection fees and rates, rural areas, and small systems.
There are limitations to utilizing this approach rather than conducting a full survey. The
identification of these gaps will set the stage for future research.

•	By engaging with stakeholders early and throughout the report and assessment, EPA
intends to incorporate expert advice to provide informed recommendations and an
informed analysis approach.

•	An important part of this work is ensuring that this report and all of the work EPA is
conducting on water affordability shows the impact of water burden to households,
communities,and utilitiesthrough case studies.These viewpoints will be a critical piece of
the report. The process for case study engagement includes initial conversations with EPA
on specific affordability concerns or highlights. EPA will then write up a draft case study with
the community providinginput and clarifications before reviewing the final case study. EPA
presenters invited participants who want to know more about the case study process to
contact Melinda Luetke (Luetke.Melinda@epa.gov).

Suggested References

EPA invited participantstosharetheirsuggestionsfor resourcesthatthe Needs Assessment should
draw on. Resources that participants shared in the meeting chat are listed below.

•	2021 Drinking Water Affordability Needs Assessment (California Water Boards)

•	Addressing links between poverty, housing, water access and affordability in Detroit
(University of Michigan)

•	Case Study: View from Detroit (Martina Guzman)

•	Drinking Water Guide (River Network)

•	Navigating Legal Pathways to Rate-Funded Customer Assistance Programs (University of
North Carolina)

•	The high health risks of unaffordable water: An in-depth exploration of pathways from water
bill burden to health-related impacts in the United States (Sarango et al. 2023)

•	Water Affordability (Elevate)

•	Water Affordability Analyses for Six Michigan Communities (Moonshot Missions)

•	Water Affordability in Northeastern Illinois: Addressing Water Equity in a Time of Rising
Costs (Elevate)

Publication Number: EPA-830-S-24-003

Water Affordability ListeningSession 4


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•	Water as a Public Good (Demos)

•	Water/Color: A Study of Race & the Water Affordabilitv Crisis in America's Cities (The
Thurgood Marshall Institute at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.)

•	Water Equity and Security in Detroit's Water and Sewer District (Haas Institute for a Fair and
Inclusive Society at UC Berkeley, MOSES, and Praxia Partners)

•	Water Insecurity and Psychosocial Impact (Gaber et al. 2021)

Ellen Tarquinio ended the session by thanking participants for attending and inviting them to return
for the second listening session.

United States Environmental Protection Agency
March 2024
EPA-830-S-24-003

Publication Number: EPA-830-S-24-003

Water Affordability ListeningSession 5


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