During my summer internship at the EPA's Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, my primary focus was on analyzing how each state assesses the financial capacity of their public water systems (PWSs). The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocates over $43 billion to be administered through the existing Clean Water State Revolving Funds (CWSRF) and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (DWSRF) programs from fiscal years 2022 to 2026. The additional funding through DWSRF is specifically intended to address the most urgent drinking water infrastructure needs across the nation.

The Capacity Development Provisions, as mandated by the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996, require states to establish a process for evaluating the technical, managerial, and financial (TMF) capacity of PWSs seeking assistance from the Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (DWSRF). To help disadvantaged communities that lack the TMF capacity required to access the SRF program, the EPA has initiated the water technical assistance (WaterTA) program to provide direct support. Typically, the assessment process involves a questionnaire designed to collect data on a system's TMF capacity.

The project I was involved in required me to compare the questions included in the capacity assessment worksheets used by each state and assess whether these questions effectively address financial capacity. The focus on financial capacity is because financial capacity is not easily assessed and measured. This could be due to the lack of a uniform method or standard indicators that the water systems can use to evaluate their financial capacity or that primacy agencies find it more difficult to define financial capacity compared to technical capacity. The objective of this project is to further the WaterTA program by providing insights into how the EPA can assist states in evaluating financial capacity or developing additional tools to help water systems build their financial capacity, allowing more water systems to benefit from DWSRF assistance.

Overall, working at the EPA was a valuable experience. I had the opportunity to conduct informational interviews with many colleagues who are also passionate about water, and I gained significant insights into the policy implementation process and the challenges faced by water systems across the United States.