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Water is a vital piece of community infrastructure. Water affordability and infrastructure challenges are connected. We need to invest in water infrastructure to maintain it, but we also need to fund those investments in ways that ensure people can afford to pay their water bills. As water advocates, we must embrace multifaceted solutions to tackle the water affordability problem from various angles. An estimated one-fifth of all New Jersey households face challenges affording their water and sewer bills. Unaffordable water bills threaten savings, wealth building, and access to water since water debt can lead to shut-offs and tax lien sales along with compounding interest and penalties that make it harder to pay off the debt. Permanent solutions in this area can have far-reaching benefits. These include strengthening the tenuous hold on building savings and retaining wealth at the household level, ensuring access to basic needs such as clean drinking water and healthful sewerage and stormwater service at the community level, and supporting sustained progress of existing projects targeting lead service line removal and combined sewer overflow at the utility level, which are vital community infrastructure and have long term health and economic benefits.

Op-ed by JWW Co-Chairs Mark Mauriello and Jane Kenny for United for Infrastructure 2021: A Week to Champion America’s Infrastructure.

Guest blog from John Keller, Director of Education and Outreach at coLAB Arts, discussing the intersection of art and water at the fifth annual Jersey Water Works Conference.

2019 One Water Award Winners Prioritize Community Involvement, Collaboration in Sustainable Water Management Practices

The partnership between American Water and the City of Camden was honored with a 2019 One Water Award for utilizing effective collaboration with Camden organizations and residents to improve the city’s water challenges.

Western Monmouth Utilities Authority was honored with a 2019 One Water Award for involving the community to train and educate the next generation of the water workforce through establishing its Environmental Professional Development Academy.

Amy S. Greene Environmental Consultants was honored with a 2019 One Water Award for successfully restoring water quality to more than 90 acres of critical wetland along the Pequest River, which will be managed as part of the Kittatinny Valley State Park.

New Jersey delegation attends the One Water Summit in Austin, Texas – which includes several JWW members.

NJDOT’s new model complete and green streets policy and guide provides practical guidance for municipalities, counties, and agencies to improve roads and the overall landscape.

The award-winning Green Infrastructure Municipal Toolkit is perfect for community leaders who want to manage stormwater sustainably, reduce localized flooding, and improve water quality.