Water & Wastewater Market Monthly Roundup, September 2020

Dear Readers,

Water and Wastewater Monthly Roundup for the month of September 2020, is a snapshot of the insights our data is able to provide to our Water and Wastewater Industry clients. This blog shares upcoming project alerts, drivers, recent mergers and acquisitions, and updates on upcoming meetings and conferences.

Industry Drivers

Driver: EPA Updates WIFIA Loan, Saving More Money for San Diego Ratepayers

Status: Effective

Organization: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Summary: On September 2, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency announced an update to the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan with the City of San Diego, California. By lowering the WIFIA loan's interest rate, ratepayers will save an additional $290 million over the loan's life.

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Driver: PFAS Statewide Investigation Network: Community Water Supply Sampling

Status: Proposed

Organization: Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

Summary: On September 14, 2020, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency declared its plans to conduct an investigation across the state into the prevalence and existence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in finished drinking water in 1,749 community water supplies in Illinois. Gathered data will help develop the future Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) regulatory standards for PFAS. If PFAS chemicals are identified, Illinois EPA will work with community water supplies to ensure residents are informed, and determine the next steps to lessening exposure. The investigation is anticipated to take 12 to 15 months to complete.

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Driver: EPA Proposes 2020 Financial Capability Assessment for Water Services in Disadvantaged Communities

Status: Proposed

Organization: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Summary: On September 15, 2020, the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its proposed 2020 Financial Capability Assessment (FCA) for the Clean Water Act. Under the 2020 FCA, EPA wants to help water utilities that serve economically disadvantaged communities and provide vital clean water services that support public health, the environment, and local economies. EPA’s proposed FCA 2020 guidance incorporates new metrics to inform a community’s implementation schedule. When issued in the federal register, EPA will accept comments for 30 days via the Federal eRulemaking portal. This document was updated for the first time in over 20 years.

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Driver: USDA Invests $268 Million in Rural Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Improvements in 28 States

Status: Effective

Organization: U.S. Department of Agriculture

Summary: On September 22, 2020, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) declared $268 million to improve rural drinking water and wastewater infrastructure across 28 states. USDA is financing 76 projects through the Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program. Some of the biggest fundings go to the City of Greenville, Ill. ($14 million), andHulbert, Okla. (the Tenkiller Utilities Authority (TUA) is getting a $10.6 million loan and a $4.6 million grant). List of states that are getting funds are: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia.

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Driver: AWWA adopts five-year strategic path forward

Status: Effective

Organization: American Water Works Association (AWWA)

Summary: On August 27, 2020, American Water Works Association (AWWA) published that the Board of Directors approved a new strategic plan on August 18. The updated program allows the AWWA Board to set direction, secure resources, provide oversight for the next five years, and define AWWA's role in supporting water professionals worldwide and strengthening its collaboration with AWWA sections. Also, the 2025 plan expands AWWA's list of core principles from five to seven. The two new principles are maintaining the publics' trust and advancing access to safe water globally. The new plan also emphasizes an AWWA principle – Foster Diversity and Inclusion – by changing it to Advance Diversity and Inclusion. The remaining principles in the 2025 plan, brought along from the 2016 program, are:

• Protect Public Health
• Safeguard the Environment
• Share Best Practices
• Inspire Innovation

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Alert: Ohio’s City of Akron CIP increases by $0.2 Billion for the FY 2020-2024

In July 2020, Ohio’s City of Akron adopted its Capital Investment and Community Development Program for fiscal year (FY) 2020-2024. The program is updated annually. We’ve completed our review. 

Looking back at the FY 2019-2023 Adopted CIP, it totaled $1.4 billion, with a total number of  364 projects. The highest appropriations were designated for water & sewer construction, totaling $736.4 million.

This year’s CIP totals $1.6 billion, which is an increase of a total value of CIP of 11.7% in comparison to the previous year CIP. Total number of projects has decreased from last year, and totals 338. Water & sewer program expenditures remain to lead in having highest appropriations, with $743.8 million, which is an increase of 1% from the FY 2019 - 2023. Following highest appropriated areas are transportation ($517.8 million) and miscellaneous ($260.7 million).Although not being the biggest business areas, miscellaneous and transportation have the most valuable projects. First one is a Debt Service Project, and it relates to annual repayments on various forms of debt, including safety forces bond funds. It has a value of $221.4 million. Transportation projects are following with the Pavement Replacement Project ($157 million) and State Route 8 Bridge Replacement Project ($131.7 million), which involves replacing the 1500-ft long bridge, known as the North Expressway Viaduct . 

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Alert: Massachusetts' City of Arlington CIP Increases by 34.8% for the FY 2020-2024

In August 2020, Massachusetts’s City of Arlington adopted its Capital Improvement Program for fiscal year  2020-2024. The program is updated annually. We’ve completed our review. 

Looking back at the FY 2019-2023 Adopted CIP, it totaled $338.1 million, with a total number of 75 projects. The highest appropriations were designated for the business area (BA) of public works and transportation, totaling $176.8 million.

This year’s CIP totals $518.4 million, which is an increase of a total value of CIP of 34.8% in comparison to the previous year CIP. Total number of projects has increased from last year, and totals 93. As a leading BA, with highest designated appropriations of $168.8 million, becomes the BA of water utilities, replacing BA of public works and transportation. 

While looking at the data, we noticed a major increase in this year's capital investments, due to the expansion of the BA. The biggest and most obvious one is Water Utilities BA, bringing $168.8 million to the Program. If we look at the largest project in this 5-year report, as top 3 projects we notice these notable projects: Water Treatment Project worth $67.4 million, Water and Sewer Main Project worth $50.5 million, and Active Adult Center Project worth $40.5 million.

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Meeting Planner

Organizations have shifted their event strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are tracking these changing meeting plans.

Meetings in October and November, 2020

• (Virtual Conference) WEF Annual Technical Exhibition and Conference, Oct.  5 to Oct.  9, 2020, http://ow.ly/28Um50BFOPV
• (Virtual Conference) AWWA-IA Annual Conference, Oct.  13 to Oct.  15, 2020, http://ow.ly/yaCP50BFOSh
• (Canceled) Southwest Section Annual Conference, Oct.  18 to Oct.  20, 2020, Tulsa, Oklahoma, http://ow.ly/2WKg50BFOUB
• (Virtual Conference) Intermountain Section Annual Conference, Oct.  21 to Oct.  23, 2020, http://ow.ly/8grZ50BFOWN
• (Virtual Conference) CA-NV AWWA Annual Fall Conference, Oct.  26 to Oct.  29, 2020, http://ow.ly/ZicW50BFOZ5
• (Virtual Conference) ASDWA Annual Conference, Oct.  26 to Oct.  29, 2020, http://ow.ly/6Qa550BFP2h
• (Virtual Conference) RMS AWWA The Rocky Mountain Water Conference, Oct.  27 to Oct.  30, 2020, http://ow.ly/FHv450BFP4h
• (Canceled) AWWA Water Infrastructure Conference & Exposition, Nov.  2 to Nov.  5, 2020, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, http://ow.ly/EQhK50BFP70
• (Virtual Conference) NC AWWA-WEA Annual Conference, Nov.  2 to Nov.  4, 2020, http://ow.ly/pD3m50BFP9Y
• (Virtual Conference) BCWWA Annual Conference & Trade Show, Nov.  3 to Nov.  4, 2020, http://ow.ly/tng250BFPcq
• (Virtual Conference) The International Water Conference, Nov.  8 to Nov.  12, 2020, http://ow.ly/LzLU50BFPeI
• (Virtual Conference) Ultrapure Micro Conference, Nov.  9 to Nov.  11, 2020, http://ow.ly/iULv50BFPh9
• (Virtual Conference) Annual Water Resources Conference, Nov.  9 to Nov.  12, 2020, http://ow.ly/z9Pl50BFPiO
• (Virtual Conference) AWWA│SWAN International Smart Water Symposium, Nov.  10 to Nov.  11, 2020, http://ow.ly/saTv50BFPnl
• (Canceled) AWWA Water Quality Technology Conference, Nov. 15 to Nov.  19, 2020, Schaumburg, Illinois, http://ow.ly/Dqhe50BFPq0
• (Virtual Conference) FSAWWA Annual Fall Conference, Nov.  30 to Dec.  2, 2020, http://ow.ly/Pv6F50BFPsE

Early Bird Registration Deadlines

• Event:  Annual Water Resources Conference - 2020 (Virtual Conference)
• URL: http://ow.ly/ceKj50BFOFu
• Dates:  Nov. 9 to Nov. 11, 2020
• Date Early Registration:  Oct. 30, 2020

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