2019 Work Plan Items:

• Advance water and sewer affordability for low-income customers by:
  • Finalizing and issuing a white paper with a menu of state policy options to ensure affordability;
  • Establishing a consensus methodology for measuring affordability issues, using it to assess New Jersey communities, and issuing a report on the benchmark findings.
• Issue a baseline assessment of drinking water utility capital investments in New Jersey.
• Review and issue comments on state government proposals, including New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection guidance for stormwater utilities, efforts to require asset
  management for wastewater systems, and Water Quality Accountability Act recommendations.
• Recommend, in partnership with industry groups, level-of-service goals for use with asset management programs.
• Represent Jersey Water Works and promote its work at industry and partner conferences and workshops, in coordination with backbone staff.

2018 Accomplishments:

• Worked with industry partners to recommend metrics to New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection on the status of drinking water systems, asset management programs and capital investment.
• Recommended legal and policy options for improving water and wastewater affordability for low-income customers.
• Hosted a peer review of New Jersey Water Bank’s green infrastructure financing program, identifying ways to improve applicant success.
• Tested methodologies for measuring affordability of water and sewer rates at the census tract level.

2019 Work Plan Items:

• Host or participate in two events to promote water workforce development, such as running facility tours, career days, or job fairs, and share supporting materials.
• Make existing informational resources on water infrastructure more accessible for residents and other stakeholders by creating a new Jersey Water Works website interface.
• Implement a pilot schools program in Robbinsville to educate grade-school students on water infrastructure and share lessons learned.
• Host or participate in at least two national water infrastructure awareness events such as Infrastructure Week and Imagine A Day Without Water, and amplify those efforts through Jersey Water Works’ communications platforms.

2018 Accomplishments:

• Created a water infrastructure fact sheet for media, to be included in press kits.
• Raised water infrastructure awareness statewide by creating social media content for events such as Infrastructure Week and Imagine A Day Without Water.
• Reached agreement to pilot a water infrastructure-focused curriculum with the Robinsville School District in 2019.

2019 Work Plan Items:

• Work with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to create and promote a Green Streets handbook for New Jersey communities.
• Recommend revisions to Sustainable Jersey’s Complete Street Actions to include green stormwater management.
• Recommend policies to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection regarding reasonable use of green infrastructure within Green Acres-restricted parks.
• Issue recommendations, based on a national review of best practices, for New Jersey stormwater utilities to create green infrastructure incentive programs.
• Continue the Green Infrastructure Champions program by making training broadly accessible through webinars and the development of a “train the trainer” program.
• Establish a process to solicit and share New Jersey green infrastructure projects and case studies to include in existing green infrastructure inventories.

2018 Accomplishments:

• Secured funding from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 2 to produce a green streets handbook.
• Working with New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to revise rules, guidance and tools to integrate green infrastructure into parks, municipal reports, and project inventories.
• Completed a first draft of a green infrastructure guide for private property owners and residents.

2019 Work Plan Items:

• Maximize the impact of the CSO Committee’s reports Balancing Green and Gray Solutions to CSO Management and Hidden Capacity: How Proper Maintenance and Cleaning of Sewer
  Systems Can Have Huge Benefits! through promotion and active distribution of the documents to stakeholders including New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), CSO supplemental teams, and others.
• Assist CSO municipalities and utilities with resource gaps by providing technical assistance, resource sharing, or other means.
• Review the Development and Evaluation of Alternatives reports due to DEP on July 1 and develop a summary document highlighting:
  • Consideration of green and gray infrastructure;
  • Consideration of community input;
  • A list of the alternatives considered in each report with descriptive information on their review; and
  • Innovative ideas.
• Share with CSO permit holders next-tier opportunities related to CSO mitigation, such as integrated planning, increased community engagement, workforce development with green infrastructure, odor control best practices, and the CSO/climate connection.

2018 Accomplishments:

• Issued a report with recommendations on optimizing green infrastructure in CSO Long Term Control Plans (LTCPs).
• Worked with NJDEP to employ best practices for public participation in order to ensure authentic community engagement in the development of LTCPs.
• Issued a report highlighting, as a low cost solution, the importance of sewer cleaning and inspection as critical elements of a proper and effective sewer system operation and maintenance program.