How EPA Can Help Utilities Be More Climate Change Resilient

Water Online has published an article summarizing the resources the EPA discussed during the December 2022 webinar “DWSRF Building Capacity in Action.” The primary focus of the webinar was the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), whose mandate is to provide financial assistance that helps water systems and states achieve the objectives of the Safe Drinking Water Act. The DWSRF empowers states to create loan programs for their water systems to fund a variety of projects, including improving a utility’s climate resilience. The webinar also covered the Creating Resilient Water Utilities initiative, which provides water and wastewater utilities with the “practical tools, training, and technical assistance needed to increase resilience to climate change.” The presenter suggested that interested utilities use CRWU’s Resilient Strategies Guide to identify climate priorities based off their locale, then input that information into the Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool to produce a risk assessment report and follow-on plan. EPA representatives also emphasized the importance of creating robust emergency response plans. Read more at Water Online here.