No Community Left Behind White Paper on Regional Water and Wastewater Solutions

No Community Left Behind (NCLB) has published a white paper, entitled, “Blueprint for Affordable, Equitable and Sustainable Water and Wastewater Services.” The paper was developed in collaboration with water utility organizations. The purpose of the paper is to stimulate a dialogue with federal, state, and local decision-makers about regional solutions to help ensure safe and affordable water and wastewater services for small, rural and disadvantaged communities that lack resources.

The paper examines the large and growing need to invest in water infrastructure and help address additional challenges with workforce, more stringent regulations, increased operations and maintenance costs, climate change and resiliency, cybersecurity, and more. It explores opportunities to promote, facilitate, incentivize, provide funding and remove barriers for different types of voluntary restructuring and collaborations. Elements of regional approaches and examples of water system successes are also provided. Read the white paper here.