US Water Alliance Releases Racial Equity Toolkit for Water Utilities

The US Water Alliance has released a new tool, the Racial Equity Toolkit, designed to enable water utilities to work towards improving their racial equity practices and outcomes both within the utility itself and its customers/community. The US Water Alliance highlights that utilities “can use the Toolkit to understand how current policies, practices, and programs continue to promote and exacerbate racial inequities.” The toolkit provides resources to help utilities “identify opportunities to improve their internal operations, actions, and external relationships to better center the needs of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.”

The toolkit focuses on five thematic areas: Organizational Development, Community Partnerships, Workforce Development, Capital Projects, and Customer Service. In a phased approach, the toolkit outlines objectives and actions for each focus area that a water utility can take to advance racial equity. The US Water Alliance intends the toolkit to be a living document that will evolve along with the water sector.