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This white paper focuses on one of the most promising strategies water utilities can use to develop broad public support: Embracing triple-bottom-line outcomes that deliver community benefits like jobs, business opportunities, green space, safer and more beautiful streets, and other local amenities. Selected policies and programs designed to catalyze community and economic development allow water utilities to show the public that they provide efficient and environmentally beneficial infrastructure that fosters local economic and social improvements.

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Written by Annie Snider, E&E reporter

Cross-posted on E&E. Read original post here.

With U.S. EPA's work on a national stormwater regulation stalled, a pair of congressional Democrats are trying again to move a bill aimed at spurring innovative solutions to one of the country's largest water pollution problems. 

Disponible en español. Available in Spanish

Amery Romero’s family has lived in Truchas, New Mexico for generations. Since the 1600s, they’ve farmed and raised cattle in the area. But over the past few decades, more and more of Truchas’ residents have streamed out of the town, leaving to work at the nearby Los Alamos National Laboratory, or heading to Santa Fe in search of jobs. 

As more communities move towards adopting green infrastructure as a cost-effective approach to manage polluted runoff, it is critical that local governments address barriers to operations and maintenance. American Rivers and Green For All collaborated to develop Staying Green: Strategies to Improve Operations and Maintenance of Green Infrastructure in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, which highlights existing information related to costs of green infrastructure maintenance, identifies the significant barriers to effective operations and maintenance of these practices, recommends strategies to improve operations and maintenance, and provides resources and case studies that local governments can use as models.

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The operations and maintenance of green infrastructure represents a significant opportunity to create entry-level jobs in the green sector for individuals from disadvantaged communities. In the coming years, thousands of new green infrastructure projects will be installed throughout the country. They will require a workforce trained to maintain and monitor the projects. Developed by Green For All in partnership with American Rivers, Staying Green and Growing Jobs: Green Infrastructure Operations and Maintenance as Career Pathway Stepping Stones reveals that water utilities investing in green infrastructure can outsource operations and maintenance work to workforce development programs that train individuals in green infrastructure – in fact, some already do. Operations and maintenance work gives disadvantaged community members access to jobs and career on-ramps while performing the work required by water utilities.

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By Maritza Martinez

KI Eco Center youth entrepreneurs assemble a rain barrel prototype.

Access to clean water is vital for a healthy life. We tend to think about water scarcity issues as a crisis only in developing nations. But we have a water crisis right here in the U.S., too. We have crumbling and inefficient water infrastructure.  We waste 1.5 trillion gallons of water each year just because of broken water mains. Thirty-six states are expected to suffer from water shortages in the next five years alone.  We urgently need to address these problems. 

This tool is a resource for all stakeholders promoting the use of green infrastructure using a jobs framework. Find persuasive data points and effective communication strategies to persuade decision makers to increase green infrastructure investments.

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