Dear Customer: We're Shutting Off Your Water

1. Dear Customer: We're Shutting Off Your Water  Millions of People Lose Their Water Service Every Year after Falling Behind on What They Owe Mary Grant NASUCA Mid-Year Meeting Portland, Oregon June 20, 2019

2. Our Mission Food & Water Watch champions healthy food and clean water for all. We stand up to corporations that put profits before people, and advocate for a democracy that improves people’s lives and protects our environment.

3. Overview • Background • Emerging water affordability crisis • National water shutoff survey • Key findings • Factors driving shutoffs • Water burdens and policies • Recommendations • Data needs and protections

4. Background: Aging Infrastructure Nationally, our water, wastewater and stormwater systems need at least $744 billion in improvements over the next 20 years, according to EPA’s needs surveys. Signs of aging systems: • 240,000 water main breaks a year, wasting 1.7 trillion gallons of water • 75,000 sewer overflows a year, spilling 3 to 10 billion gallons of sewage

5. Declining Federal Support

6. Growing Affordability Problems

7. The Harm of Water Shutoffs • Threat to human health • No water to drink, cook, clean • No water for sanitation, flushing toilets, washing hands, showering • Forced migration • Homes uninhabitable • Family separation • Lack of running in the home can be considered child neglect in 21 states

8. National Water Shutoff Report • Requests to the 2 largest systems in each state • Number of residential accounts disconnected for nonpayment during 2016 • Average Shutoff Rate = 5% • More than half a million households • 1.4 million people from surveyed utilities • Great variation from 0% to 20% More information, interactive tables and maps online: https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/insight/americas-secret-water-crisis

11. Water Burdens – Most Shutoffs

12. Water Burdens – Fewest Shutoffs

13. Shutoff Policies and Procedures Key: Minimum time between billing date and shutoff

15. Private Utilities: Little Disclosure • Response rate: 74% • 72 public systems, 1 private system (Suez Idaho) 9% response rate of regulated private systems • No data from: • Suez’s subsidiary in New Jersey • Artesian Water Company in Delaware • American Water subsidiaries in Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, New Jersey, West Virginia • Baton Rouge Water Company in Louisiana • Aqua America’s subsidiary in Pennsylvania • Maine Water Company

16. Private Utilities: No Disclosure to GAO

17. Transparency and Data Needs • Track, report and publish disconnections and reconnections with: • Customer class • Time between disconnect and service restoration • Vacancy status • Geographic information (e.g., address, census tract, zip code)

18. Low-Income Protections • Shutoff procedures • Protections for vulnerable populations • Seniors, infants & children, medical hardships • More lenient payment schedules, payment plans • Sufficient notice – door hangers, calls, separate mailings • Affordability programs • Philadelphia model • Arrearage management and forgiveness

19. Mary Grant mgrant@fwwatch.org (410) 394-7653