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July 16, 2010

An essential element of NACWA’s Money Matters affordability campaign is the ability to tell the story of the very real financial constraints that public member agencies are experiencing in clear, compelling language.  To that end, NACWA is encouraging its members to complete this brief online survey which will help NACWA put a local face on the affordability constraints the nation’s cities, towns and communities are facing as the economic downturn continues.

The survey will gather both anecdotal information as well as key facts that exemplify the financial hardships that EPA’s Clean Water Act regulatory and enforcement regime is causing.  This information will benefit NACWA’s Money Matters effort and the legislative, regulatory and legal advocacy efforts seeking to improve and update EPA’s outdated affordability policies.  The information will also help inform work that NACWA is doing with the U.S. Conference of Mayors seeking greater flexibility from EPA leadership in terms of how it makes affordability determinations.

NACWA intends to use these case studies as part of its public affairs messaging campaign and for informational leave-behinds to be distributed to key stakeholders going forward.  NACWA, of course, will do everything to ensure this information gathered from the survey is used accurately and in line with any specifications the agency provides.

The brief online survey is divided into two components:

1. General information from all agencies so that NACWA can use to broadly describe system-wide challenges (e.g., being able to say that 75 percent of surveyed systems said “X” was a significant problem); and
   
2. Specific agency information that is anecdotal in nature; smaller stories that paint a local, more personalized picture (e.g., compliance with Clean Water Act requirements would demand rate increases of 20 percent per year for each of the next ten years).

NACWA requests that, to the extent possible, survey data be completed by July 16, 2010.  Survey responses should be as detailed as you feel necessary to tell your utility’s story in a compelling fashion.  Given the ongoing nature of this information gathering effort, however, NACWA will be seeking survey responses through the beginning of August.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to help us with this important piece of the Money Matters campaign.   If you have any concerns regarding the use of the information your agency provides below or with the survey itself please feel free to contact Adam Krantz at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 202.833.4651.