According to the survey, a combined 78 percent of respondents said they were “extremely likely” or “fairly likely” to pursue funding from these new mechanisms, tapping into resilience money through the new Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) programs, pre-hazard mitigation funds and other multi-sector opportunities to drive greater climate resilience across their entire enterprise.
In a separate question, more than half — 51.3 percent — of respondents said they were “extremely” or “very” confident that they have the ability to use the funding, with an additional one-third expressing only moderate confidence. The relatively lower confidence could be due to various concerns, including competitive process to obtain funding, matching fund requirements, administrative reporting and other compliance requirements.
To leverage the federal, state and local funding opportunities, utilities should improve their internal funding resilience by investing in multi-year financial planning and financial best practices. They also should consider diversifying their funding streams so that utilities are not dependent upon one method of funding such as funding stormwater management through tax revenues but consider other more dedicated and stable sources of revenues such as stormwater user rates and charges, impact fees and other innovative monetization of services. By planning ahead and building out their internal funding resilience, utilities will be better equipped to leverage all the funding opportunities available to them.
Planning for a Climate Future
For utilities to truly plan for climate adaptation, they must remember it’s not only about investing in protecting assets but also optimizing operations and maintenance and enhancing the level of services, including effective management of green infrastructure.
Although respondents are focusing on water loss mitigation and conservation strategies, it is important to distinguish between the two types of mitigation. The first type, “real losses,” are associated with the water infrastructure itself in the form of leaks, main breaks or other such losses resulting from physical infrastructure.
But the second type, “apparent loss,” also plays a critical part and results from how a utility operates its billing, metering, pressure management and customer conservation programs, all of which fall under operations and planning. This also is true for energy-efficiency strategies; it’s not only the infrastructure and technology that the utility places in service but also the type of operational protocols and policies that govern utility-wide energy management. This even extends to fleet operations in how water utilities operate their fleets, plan their routing, etc.
Climate adaptation will require planning, funding and the adoption of multiple yet integrated strategies to help ensure a more resilient future against climate-related extreme events. Continuous and consistent proactive planning and building the necessary technical, financial, infrastructural and organizational capacity can help utilities move forward on the continuum of climate adaptation and resilience.
