John Colclazier — Wichita State University Environmental Finance Center (EFC) program manager and recent graduate of the Hugo Walls School’s Master of Public Administration — traveled to Nome, Alaska, to lead a workshop on water utility management in late August. Colclazier also led a workshop in Anchorage for water utility operators while in Alaska.
The EFC is a recognized leader in asset management for water utilities and leads workshops on this and other topics nationwide. The workshop was funded through a grant to EFC from the Environmental Protection Agency to have the EFC provide technical assistance to small water and wastewater systems throughout the country.
The WSU Environmental Finance Center (EFC) will have a prominent presence at the 13th annual Kansas Water Environment Association/Ks Section AWWA joint conference in Topeka, Kansas, Aug. 30-Sept. 1.
Five members of the EFC staff, including center director Tonya Bronleewe, will give presentations on drinking water and wastewater topics affecting cities, states and the nation. Other EFC staff members giving presentations include Brian Bohnsack, Michelle Dehaven, Jeff Severin and Baylee Vieyra.
The conference will also host 600 other drinking water and wastewater professionals. Presentations will include discussions on community engagement, workforce recruitment and retention, lead testing of drinking water and a pilot test of an asset management program for water utilities.
The tool is a free, easy-to-use online resource that can help communities understand their capacity to finance water and wastewater infrastructure investments. The tool is available for the states of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. During the webinar, EFC staff will provide a short overview of the tool and conduct an open session for participants to work through the tool with live, on-hand assistance.
The tool relies on data from the U.S. Census Bureau to broadly forecast communities’ median household income and compares that to user-input data of a community’s average water bill and planned infrastructure development financing costs.
The EFC received grant funding from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop this tool that provides decision makers financial and infrastructure development information so they can make the best decisions for their community. The EFC has received additional EPA funding to develop the tool for the states of Oklahoma and Louisiana and EFC will complete this effort in the fall.
Several WSU Environmental Finance Center staff will present Kansas Water Environment Association (KWEA) and Kansas Section American Water Works Association (KsAWWA) annual Water and Wastewater Conference.
The organizations invited to present at this event are recognized as the leading technical and educational organizations dedicated to the enhancement and protection of Kansas’ water resources. Approximately 800 water quality professionals are expected to attend the conference Aug. 31-Sept. 2 in Topeka, Kansas.
Environmental Finance Center staff presentations will include:
“Lead Service Line Replacement: Options for Replacement and Financing” presented by Nick Willis, senior program manager
“Customer Affordability for Small Communities” presented by Michelle DeHaven, program associate
“Leadership for Diversity” presented by Jeff Severin, EFC program manager
“The Small Community Assistance Program (SCAP) Asset Management Tool: A free resource for utilities” presented by Brian Bohnsack, program manager and Jeff Severin
To learn more about these presentations, please contact the WSU Environmental Center at efc@wichita.edu.
The Wichita State Environmental Finance Center (EFC) has released its community sustainability tool for Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska. The tool is an Excel-based planning resource that assesses the economic sustainability of investments in drinking water and wastewater systems by communities. The tool relies on data from the Bureau of Census to broadly forecast communities’ median household income in the future. Using the forecast of median household, along with a community’s average water utility rate, communities are able to determine if water utility rates will support future water infrastructure costs.
“The Community Sustainability Tool is a planning resource for community leaders, mayors, public works directors, and even citizens. When it is time to upgrade or improve water or wastewater infrastructure, this tool can help communities understand their ability to pay for these large investments over time” said Tonya Bronleewe, Director of the Environmental Finance Center. “One of the biggest benefits of this tool is that the calculations are targeted to each community, since no two communities are the same.”
The EFC is part of the Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs. Building the tool involved a team of EFC staff and Hugo Wall faculty. The team includes EFC staff members John Colclazier, Michelle Dehaven, Brian Bohnsack, Tonya Bronleewe, and Hugo Wall faculty members Dr. Ruowen Shen and Dr. Xiaoheng Wang. The EFC received funding for this project from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EFC also partnered with the WSU Training and Technology Team (T3) to make the tool available online. The EFC has received additional EPA funding to develop the tool for the states of Oklahoma and Louisiana in the coming months.
