Water Finance Webinars and Forums

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Upcoming Water Finance Webinars

Check back for future webinars.

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Upcoming Water Finance Forums

Check back for future forums.

Past Water Finance Webinars

Addressing Stormwater Challenges with EPA Technical Assistance and Funding

EPA hosted this webinar about water technical assistance (WaterTA) and funding available through EPA to address stormwater-related challenges on May 29, 2024.

The webinar covers the following topics:

  • EPA’s no-cost water technical assistance programs (WaterTA);
  • Funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Clean Water State Revolving Fund, Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grants Program, and Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act Program; and
  • Demonstration of how WaterTA can assist communities in identifying solutions and addressing stormwater challenges.
Presenters:
  • Travis Ostrom, U.S. EPA, Water Infrastructure and Resiliency Finance Center
  • Michael Goralczyk, U.S. EPA, Clean Water State Revolving Fund
  • Dallas Shattuck, U.S. EPA, Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act Program
  • Kristina Murphy, Delta Institute, Region 5 Environmental Finance Center

EPA’s Water Technical Assistance (WaterTA): Helping Communities Access Funding

Many communities across America – in rural, tribal, suburban, and urban areas – struggle to address water infrastructure needs and obtain funding to access clean, safe, and reliable drinking water and wastewater services.

This webinar discusses EPA’s Water Technical Assistance (WaterTA) efforts to provide free hands-on support for communities to assess their water needs, identify potential solutions, and apply for federal funding to address their water challenges, hosted on May 22, 2024.

Financial Capability Assessment (FCA) Guidance for Clean Water Act Obligations

EPA’s Water Infrastructure and Resiliency Finance Center and Office of Enforcement and Compliance Insurance staff held a public webinar about the new 2023 Financial Capability Assessment Guidance on February 23, 2023. The guidance outlines strategies for communities to support affordable utility rates while planning investments in water infrastructure that are essential for Clean Water Act (CWA) implementation. Municipalities use the guidance to devise plans to comply with the CWA and to evaluate the economic impacts on public entities of water quality standards decisions.

Presenters:
  • Bruno Pigott, Deputy Assistant Administrator, U.S. EPA Office of Water
  • Chrisna Baptista, Attorney-Adviser, U.S. EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance

EPA's Water Finance Clearinghouse New General User Training Webinar

EPA hosted a virtual training for general users of EPA's Water Finance Clearinghouse, on February 7, 2024. The webinar shows how the Water Finance Clearinghouse works, a live demonstration of the Clearinghouse, and tips and best practices for using the Clearinghouse.

Presenter:
  • Alison Martin, Cadmus Group

EPA's Water Finance Clearinghouse Contributor User Training Webinar

EPA hosted a virtual training for general users of EPA's Water Finance Clearinghouse, on February 14, 2024. The webinar shows how to create a Contributor account, a tutorial on how to make submissions to the Clearinghouse, and tips and best practices for how to use the Clearinghouse as a Contributor.

Presenter:
  • Ajiri Uzere, Cadmus Group

State Revolving Funds (SRFs) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding

EPA hosted a webinar about how Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding can help communities improve their water and wastewater infrastructure on February 9, 2023. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will invest $43.4 billion through the State Revolving Funds, with a significant portion of funding provided as grants or principal forgiveness loans to disadvantaged communities through Clean Water State Revolving Funds (CWSRFs) and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (DWSRFs).

Presenters:
  • Alison Souders, U.S. EPA, Clean Water State Revolving Fund
  • Bev Vazquez, U.S. EPA, Water Infrastructure and Resiliency Finance Center
  • Tonya White, CPM, Assistant Chief, Oklahoma Water Resources Board
  • Robert H. Boos, Deputy Executive Director for Project Management, Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Improving Water Infrastructure for Communities Webinar

EPA hosted a webinar to discuss how Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding can help communities improve their water and wastewater infrastructure on July 13, 2022. The webinar describes how State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs work, how Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding can help communities address water infrastructure challenges, and resources available for information and technical assistance.

Presenters:
  • Karen Dettmer, U.S. EPA, Office of Water
  • Jonathan Nelson, U.S. EPA, Office of Water
  • Nick Chamberlain, U.S. EPA, Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Program
  • Kelly Tucker, U.S. EPA, Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program
  • Michelle Madeley, U.S. EPA, Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Finance Center

Water Finance Clearinghouse Contributor User Training Webinar

EPA hosted a virtual training for Contributor users of the Water Finance Clearinghouse on May 17, 2022. Demonstration of the Clearinghouse was geared toward Clearinghouse Contributors and showed how the Clearinghouse works, a live demo of the Clearinghouse, and provided tips and best practices for using the Clearinghouse as a Contributor.

Presenter:
  • Parker Jones, Cadmus Group

Environmental Finance Center Grant Program Webinar

EPA hosted a webinar to provide an overview of the Request for Applications and the Environmental Finance Center (EFC) Grant Program on May 3, 2022.

Note: The EFC Grant Program request for applications has been extended to July 1, 2022. The total estimated amount of federal funding available under this announcement has increased from $68 million to $100 million, depending on EPA funding levels. The total amount of federal funding available under this competitive announcement is up to approximately $20 million per year. Everything else related to Section II – Award Information remains the same.

Water Finance Clearinghouse New General User Training Webinar

EPA hosted a virtual training for general users of the Water Finance Clearinghouse on March 15, 2022. The demonstration of the Clearinghouse was geared toward new users, highlighted how the Clearinghouse works, and provided tips and best practices for using the Clearinghouse.

Presenters:
  • Addison Chau, U.S. EPA, Water Finance Center
  • Taner Durusu, Cadmus Group

Proposed 2022 Financial Capability Assessment (FCA) Guidance Webinar

EPA hosted a webinar to discuss the proposed Financial Capability Assessment (FCA) on March 14, 2022. The proposed guidance outlines strategies for communities to support affordable utility rates while planning investments in water infrastructure that are essential for Clean Water Act (CWA) implementation.
 
The FCA Guidance is used by municipalities when devising plans to dramatically reduce discharges from combined sewer systems. During that process, municipalities and EPA negotiate schedules with specific timeframes for implementation. The Proposed 2022 FCA Guidance describes the financial information and formulas the agency intends to use to assess the financial resources a community has available to implement control measures and timeframes associated with implementation.

Presenter:
  • Chrisna Baptista, Attorney-Adviser, U.S. EPA, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, Water Enforcement Division

Sustainable Financial Management Planning for Water Utilities

Many water sector utilities across the nation are addressing mounting financial challenges by projecting revenue expectations, capital improvement needs, and expenses years into the future. These sustainable financial management practices often work in support of, and are also supported by, improved asset management. Key activities like improved capital budgeting can help utilities achieve stronger financial footing while enabling them to maintain and replace aging infrastructure well into the future. On August 5, 2021, EPA hosted a webinar featuring presentations from Columbus Water Works in Georgia and Union Sanitary District in California.

Presenters:
  • Alex Hinton, CPA, Senior Vice President of Financial Services Columbus Water Works, Georgia
  • Paul Eldredge, P.E., General Manager, Union Sanitary District, California
  • Mark Carlson, CPA, CFO/Business Services Manager, Union Sanitary District, California

Improving Watershed Health through Agricultural-Municipal Partnerships

EPA hosted a webinar on July 15, 2021 to discuss three different agricultural-municipal partnerships. Watersheds can benefit when municipal water treatment plants invest in conservation practices on nearby farms. These agricultural-municipal partnerships reflect a commitment to integrated planning across the complete water cycle with a strong emphasis on a highly collaborative and inclusive approach to watershed health improvement. By drawing on an integrated watershed approach, these partnerships unlock additional alternatives to address watershed health stressors and bring a broader array of watershed participants into the mix to craft solutions and take action for watershed health improvement.

Presenters:
  • Haley Falcon, Environmental Division Senior Manager, City of Boise, Idaho
  • Sarah Hippensteel, Manager of Watershed Partnerships, Miami Conservancy District, Ohio
  • Ronald Graber, Central Kansas Watershed Specialist, Kansas Center for Agricultural Resources and the Environment, Kansas

Stormwater Funding and Financing Webinar Series

Webinar 1: EPA Programs for Stormwater Funding and Financing

EPA hosted the first webinar in this series on June 8, 2021 to highlight opportunities for funding and financing stormwater infrastructure through existing EPA programs. The webinar featured speakers from EPA’s Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program, Georgia Environmental Protection Department’s Nonpoint Source Program, and EPA’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grants program.

Presenters:
  • Arielle Gerstein, Program Manager, EPA’s Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) Program
  • Robert Goo, EPA’s Office of Water in the Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds
  • Joy Hinkle, Grants Unit Manager, Georgia Environmental Protection Department, Nonpoint Source Program
  • Michael Goralczyk, EPA’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grants Program


Webinar 2: Stormwater Infrastructure Funding and Equity

EPA hosted the second in this series of webinars on stormwater infrastructure funding on July 27, 2021. This webinar highlighted equity considerations in stormwater infrastructure funding and financing.

Presenters:
  • April Mendez, Greenprint Partners
  • Andy Kricun, Moonshot Missions
  • Brian Hahn, New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation
  • Ellen Kohler, University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center


Webinar 3: Funding for Stormwater Operations and Maintenance

EPA hosted the third in this series of webinars on stormwater infrastructure funding on September 21, 2021. This webinar highlighted approaches to funding stormwater operations and maintenance (O&M) activities.

Presenters:
  • Matt Rea, Strategic Partnerships Manager, OptiRTC
  • Nadia Vogt, Senior Project Manager, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, Wisconsin
  • Julia Hilengas, Executive Director, PowerCorps PHL
  • Paul Harris, Superintendent of Mechanical Maintenance, Buffalo Sewer Authority, New York


Webinar 4: Affordability and Customer Assistance Programs for Stormwater Services

EPA hosted a webinar on “Affordability and Customer Assistance Programs for Stormwater Services” as the fourth part of EPA’s Water Finance Center’s Stormwater Funding and Financing Approaches Webinar Series on December 1, 2021. Using federal, state, and local examples, presenters discussed approaches for addressing affordability and customer’s ability to pay for stormwater services. The highlighted programs included Health and Human Services’ Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP), the State of Washington’s Connecting Housing to Infrastructure Program (CHIP) and the City of Gastonia’s stormwater utility customer assistance program.

Presenters:
  • Christina Clark, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  • Anne Fritzel, State of Washington Department of Commerce
  • Danon Lawson, City of Gastonia, North Carolina

State and Foundation Water Finance Partnerships

EPA hosted a one-hour webinar on June 23, 2020 to hear about ways coordination between funding agencies occurs in states across the country. The webinar also discusses opportunities for state-level agencies to partner with foundations on water infrastructure investments. Communities across the country range in abilities to successfully navigate financial options for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure. These water sector investments can be crucial to supporting local jobs and protecting public health in the community.

State-level funders and philanthropic foundations have a unique opportunity to revitalize water infrastructure in communities needing it most. With these public and private funds working together, critical funding gaps in the water sector can be addressed.

This webinar was sponsored by EPA’s Office of Wastewater Management. The opinions expressed in this webinar are those of the guest speaker(s). They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the presentation.

Presenters:
  • Jalonne White-Newsome, Environment Program Senior Program Officer, Kresge Foundation
  • Bret Weingart, Utilities Department Assistant Director, City of Oklahoma City
  • Joe Freeman, Financial Assistance Division Chief, Oklahoma Water Resources Board

Forest Resilience Bond Webinars

EPA hosted two webinars on April 29, 2021 and May 6, 2021 to discuss the recently published technical report on the first Forest Resilience Bond, published by EPA’s Water Finance Center. The report provides readers with technical understanding of newly emerging water finance mechanisms and serve to scale their use as appropriate.

The webinars discussed the project and report and featured a moderated panel where speakers shared their experiences and expertise. Both webinars covered the same materials and featured the same speakers.

Presenters:
  • Todd Gartner, Director, Cities4Forests and Natural Infrastructure Initiative, World Resources Institute
  • Catherine Godschalk, Vice President of Investments, Calvert Impact Capital
  • Zach Knight, CEO and Co-Founder, Blue Forest
  • Willie Whittlesey, General Manager, Yuba Water Agency, California
  • Nathalie Woolworth, Conservation Finance Program Manager, U.S. Forest Service

Water Utilities Financial Impact Tool and 2020 COVID-19 Water Sector Survey Webinar

EPA hosted a webinar on September 30, 2020 on the Water Utilities Financial Impact Tool and the 2020 COVID-19 Water Sector Survey. The webinar included a live demonstration of the tool and a discussion on the survey. The tool leads water utilities through questions that can determine how their revenues, expenses, and cashflow have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey intends to assess the challenges and needs faced by the water sector during the COVID-19 pandemic to determine if they have sufficient resources to continue their operations and provide safe drinking water and wastewater treatment during the COVID-19 national emergency.

Presenters:
  • Sonia Brubaker, Director, EPA Water Finance Center
  • Dawn Ison, EPA Water Security Division
  • Britney Vazquez, EPA Water Finance Center

Proposed 2020 Financial Capability Assessment for Clean Water Act Obligations – Informational Webinar

EPA hosted an informational webinar on September 22, 2020 to provide an overview of its proposed 2020 Financial Capability Assessment (FCA) for Clean Water Act (CWA) schedule development. The 2020 FCA proposal explores how customers’ ability to pay for service impacts the affordability of capital expenditures and operation and maintenance needed to ensure CWA compliance. When finalized, the 2020 FCA will support negotiations of schedules for implementing CWA requirements for municipalities and local authorities.

Presenters:
  • Sonia Brubaker, Director, EPA Water Finance Center
  • Sarah Rae, Attorney-Adviser, EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, Water Enforcement Division
  • Shari Barash, Chief, EPA Office of Water, Standards and Health Protection Division, National Branch

Sustainable Financial Management Planning for Water Utilities

EPA hosted a one-hour webinar on June 15, 2020 to hear about key themes and case studies from utilities around the country that are developing and implementing sustainable financing practices. The webinar provides examples and lessons other utilities can use as they begin or continue their own journeys toward fiscal sustainability. Water sector utilities across the nation face increasing financial challenges due to aging infrastructure, population changes, cost increases, and environmental challenges. To find solutions, utilities are looking for innovative approaches to build a sustainable foundation to prepare for the future.

Presenters:
  • Rod Kappes, General Manager, Brown Day Marshall Rural Water System, Inc.
  • Jay Bernas, Chief Financial Officer, Hampton Roads Sanitation District, Virginia
  • Ted Henifin, General Manager, Hampton Roads Sanitation District, Virginia

Innovative Financing Strategies for Reducing Nutrients

Innovative Financing Strategies for Reducing Nutrients Webinars - Learn about innovative financing mechanisms in both the public and private sectors for reducing nutrients. Each webinar delves into case studies of successful approaches from across the country.
  • Federal Financing for Nutrient Reductions: Grants and Lending Opportunities - June 12, 2019
  • Private Sector Financing Solutions for Nutrient Reductions - June 26, 2019
  • Funding Landscape-Scale Nutrient Reductions - July 10, 2019
  • Upcoming: Stormwater Financing Solutions for Nutrient Reductions - July 24, 2019

Leading-Edge Stormwater Financing

Leading-Edge Stormwater Financing Webinars - Learn how to identify financing strategies to support your stormwater management program. This webinar series explores both traditional stormwater financing strategies as well as new and innovative approaches. Each webinar, hosted in collaboration with the Water Environment Federation, provides a deep-dive, technical overview of specific successful and leading-edge examples of how communities support their stormwater programs. 
  • Success with Stormwater Fees - September 12, 2018
  • Washington DC’s Stormwater Retention Credit Program - May 23, 2017
  • DC Water’s Environmental Impact Bond (EIB) - May 11, 2017

Drinking Water and Wastewater Customer Assistance Programs 

Learn how drinking water and wastewater utilities are implementing customer assistance programs (CAPs) created for customers having difficulty paying for water and sewer bills. CAPs help all customers receive the public health benefits of drinking water and wastewater services, while also helping utilities meet their financial needs and obligations.​

Disaster Recovery Financing for Water and Wastewater Utilities

Disaster Recovery Financing Webinar - Learn how states and communities use SRF, FEMA, and other financing approaches to recover from a disaster. Utility and state speakers share their tips and examples. 

Resilience Mitigation Financing for Water and Wastewater Utilities

Resilience Mitigation Financing Webinar - Find tools and financing resources to conduct resilience planning and to mitigate impacts before a disaster strikes. Utilities share stories about investing in resilient infrastructure.

Past Water Finance Forums

Federal Funding for the Prevention, Monitoring, and Treatment of Harmful Algal Blooms Virtual Forum

In November 2021, EPA hosted a two-day virtual forum to provide state agencies and coastal and inland communities experiencing harmful algal bloom (HABs) related issues with an overview of federal funding programs available to prevent, monitor, and treat HABs and case examples of communities that have utilized those funds.

Presenters included representatives from EPA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U. S. Geological Survey, and U. S. Department of Agriculture.

View Day 1 of the Forum:

View Day 2 of the Forum:

Financing Nutrient Management Improvements in Underserved Communities Virtual Forum

In November 2021, EPA hosted a virtual forum designed to help underserved communities with nutrient management challenges identify funding opportunities for their needs, highlighting co-funding between EPA and th U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The forum provides information on the relevant funding programs, the application processes and requirements and how these programs can be used together to fund point source nutrient management projects. Real world examples of communities that have successfully coordinated financing are shown. EPA and USDA identify sources of technical assistance and other support for small, underserved communities that have struggled to access federal funds for nutrient management due to technical, managerial, or financial constraints. Presenters included representatives from EPA and USDA.

Innovative Financing Strategies for Reducing Nutrients Workshop

On August 14, 2019, EPA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) co-hosted an in-person all-day workshop in Washington, D.C. spotlighting creative and innovative approaches to financing strategies to help reduce nutrient pollutants in our Nation’s waters. The workshops highlighted innovative approaches for financing nutrient reduction across the country, identified ways private sector and public sector funds can be leveraged for nutrient reduction projects, and scoped ways EPA and USDA can help increase funding opportunities and awareness of innovative funding approaches.

EPA Regional Stormwater Workshops

Stormwater Financing: Innovative Opportunities to Help You Address Your Stormwater Challenges
EPA hosted a series of in-person workshops throughout the country in 2019 on stormwater financing challenges and successes at the local level.

The  workshops were facilitated discussions on current funding sources for stormwater projects and how they are being used. They covered gaps for long-term operation and maintenance, including the affordability of stormwater infrastructure through various funding sources. Regionally-specific stormwater challenges were covered.

Financing Resilient and Sustainable Water Infrastructure

The Center hosts a series of regional water finance forums. These forums bring together communities with drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater project financing needs in an interactive peer-to-peer networking format to:

  • Hear how communities have made financing decisions with sustainable operations in mind;
  • Network with peers on implementing successful financing strategies; and
  • Interact with experts to discuss local infrastructure financing needs.

Participants include community leaders, decision makers, water systems, wastewater utilities, stormwater utilities programs, technical assistance providers, consultants, and staff from state and federal programs that fund water sector projects or implement water sector programs.

Water Infrastructure and Resiliency Finance Center

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Last updated on June 3, 2024