April 07, 2020

Utility COVID-19 Response and Long-Term Impacts

50 minutes

Jim Williams, the sitting AWWA President, provides an illuminating interview on the utility response to COVID-19 and what the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will be. Jim addresses the basics for how utilities have responded to the pandemic, and also dives into federal legislative efforts, financial fallout and much more in a great interview.

Reese Tisdale also comes on for another Bluefield on Tap to discuss the latest market developments in the water sector.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

The role of the President of AWWA and AWWA governance

How the COVID-19 has impacted utilities in the short term

How a pandemic utility response differs from a natural disaster response

Strategies employed by utilities to maintain a safe and healthy workforce and protect the public health

Utilities, vendors to utilities, and “essential services” under government stay at home orders

Delays in utility capital programs and projects

Federal legislation and money for utility infrastructure and loan programs

Long-term repercussions of COVID-19, including financial repercussions, full cost of service rate recovery, and rate affordability

Jim’s thoughts on how the COVID-19 pandemic will change and shape the water sector

Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:

Jim’s LinkedIn page

AWWA website

AWWA’s Coronavirus Webpage

TWV #146: The AWWA: Past, Present and Future with David LaFrance

Thank You!

Thanks to each of you for listening and spreading the word about The Water Values Podcast! Keep the emails coming and please rate and review The Water Values Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher if you haven’t done so already. And don’t forget to tell your friends about the podcast and whatever you do, don’t forget to join The Water Values mailing list!

...more