ProGov21 Policy Library

The Invisible Crisis: Water Unaffordability in the United States

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2016

Level City or Town, State, National

State(s) All States

Source Unitarian Universalist Service Committee

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Environment & Natural Resources, Health

A sizable portion of the US population lacks continuous access to safe sources of water, undermining their dignity, health, living standards, and even family rights. Service providers and governments at the local, state and national levels must take immediate steps to address the...

Basic Water Utility Management: A Guide for Local Leaders

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources

Part of a mayor’s job is to understand vital operations of a city, including water utilities and infrastructure. This report presents tools to help mayors understand their water systems and utilities better. In particular, it summarizes the elements of a successful water system, including...

2008 Tucson Ordinance 10597 Water Conservation

Type Ordinance

Year 2008

Level City or Town

State(s) Arizona

Source Tucson City Council

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Community Development, Public Spaces, Energy

This ordinance requires all commercial development and site plans to include a rainwater harvesting plan, that includes a landscape water budget and an implementation plan. All new commercial developments shall also include a rainwater harvesting system constructed according to an...

Integrated Water Management

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2016

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Finance & Procurement

Cities can create a more resilient water system by transitioning to an integrated water management framework (IWM). By creating an IWM and developing a set of principles and the approaches that recognizes water as a resource, cities can manage all water as an asset, whatever form...

RainReady Midlothian: Interim Report

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2015

Level City or Town

State(s) Illinois

Source Center for Neighborhood Technology

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Community Development

Recognizing that urban flooding problems are generated by stormwater runoff from roads, parking lots, yards, and roofs across neighborhoods, the RainReady Community program takes a neighborhood-scale approach to addressing urban flooding. Participating neighborhoods receive an in-depth,...

2018 New York City Local Law Int. 0868-2018 Building Water Management

Type Ordinance

Year 2018

Level City or Town

State(s) New York

Source New York City Council

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Housing, Health

This local law would require building owners to provide tenants with water filtration pitchers that are certified to reduce lead concentrations in water, install water filtration or treatment systems that are certified to reduce lead concentrations, or take a sample annually from...

Ensuring Water Security for People and Nature: A Status Report from the Upper Flint River Working Group

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level City or Town, County

State(s) Georgia

Source American Rivers

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Health

The Flint Basin in the Georgia piedmont is a major water supply source for hundreds of thousands of Georgians. Since 2000, severe droughts have struck the Flint Basin. In an effort to improve drought resilience in the basin, the Upper Flint River Working Group was formed to protect...

Paying For Water Systems

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Finance & Procurement

Many public water utilities struggle to pay for repairs and upgrades necessary to improve energy efficiency, reduce leaks, and prevent infiltration. This brief outlines existing mechanisms to raise these funds as well as promising new methods for public officials to consider. Some...

2020 Madison Ordinance 60943 Suspension of Stormwater Utility Late Charges

Type Ordinance

Year 2020

Level City or Town

State(s) Wisconsin

Source The Common Council of the City of Madison

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Environment & Natural Resources, Finance & Procurement

To help mitigate the financial impacts of the COVID-19 virus on businesses and residents of Madison, this resolution authorizes the Common Council to suspend stormwater utility late charges....

2021 New York City Local Law Int. No. 2478 Office of Climate Resiliency

Type Ordinance

Year 2021

Level City or Town

State(s) New York

Source New York City Council

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources

This local law would establish an Office of Climate Resiliency, headed by a Director of Climate Resiliency. The Director would be responsible for developing policies and programs relating to climate resiliency measures in the City, educating the public about such climate resiliency...

Rivers & Roads: Opportunities to Better Integrate Green Infrastructure and Transportation Projects in Atlanta, GA and Toledo, OH

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2015

Level City or Town

State(s) Georgia, Ohio

Source American Rivers

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Finance & Procurement

When rainwater hits hard surfaces like roads and parking lots, it runs along the surface till it flows into a storm drain, river, or stream. Known as stormwater runoff, this water picks up pollutants such as heavy metals, brake linings, and deicing salts which contaminate local waters....

An Assessment of Water Loss Among Lake Michigan Permittees in Illinois

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2014

Level State

State(s) Illinois

Source Chicago Metropolitan Agency For Planning

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Community Development, Public Spaces

CMAP staff partnered with the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ (IDNR) Office of Water Resources (OWR) through its Lake Michigan Water Allocation Program in an effort to improve understanding of the water-loss control practices...

2018 New York City Local Law Int. 0417-2018 Water Leak Reporting

Type Ordinance

Year 2018

Level City or Town

State(s) New York

Source New York City Council

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources

In order to incentivize water leak reporting, this local law grants the Commissioner of Environmental Protection discretionary authority to offer rewards to the public for reporting water leaks in taps or service pipes....

2019 New York City Local Law Int.1138-2018 Inspecting Water Tanks

Type Ordinance

Year 2019

Level City or Town

State(s) New York

Source New York City Council

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Health

This local law requires the department of health and mental hygiene to review documentation of annual inspections of water tanks where harmful bacteria are found. It also requires the department to post the results of the documentation review on its website....

Setting the Agenda: A Mayor's Guide to Water Affordability

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources

This brief provides a roadmap to consider water affordability programs as a means to address aging and failing water infrastructure and diminishing access to clean and affordable water. The brief describes best practices and innovative solutions so that utilities can address the aging...

The Risks Posed by Water Privatization

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source In the Public Interest

Policy Areas Community Development, Health, Finance & Procurement

Water privatization has often proven to be harmful to communities, workers, and the environment, and should not be relied on to help municipalities. While many water systems need improvements, corporate control does not provide a solution to provide long-term sustainability, regulatory...

Toxic Floodwaters The Threat of Climate-Driven Chemical Disaster in Virginia's James River Watershed

Type Fact Sheet or Infographic, Fact Sheet or Infographic

Year 2019

Level City or Town, County, City or Town, Other Boards and Agencies

State(s) All States, Virginia

Source Center For Progressive Reform

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources

Toxic floodwaters have serious health consequences. After Florence and Harvey, residents in North Carolina and Texas complained of headaches, burning eyes and throats, dizziness, and other health problems. Public health professionals raised concerns about floodwaters leaving a hazardous...

Fracking Bans & Moratoriums

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2013

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Local Progress

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Health

Fracking is an under-regulated, highly contaminative, and unsustainable practice. Because major decisions about large-scale fracking projects are unaddressed by the federal government (since profitable oil companies have utilized their monetary and political capital to keep fracking...

Responding to Water Stagnation in Buildings With Reduced or No Water Use: A Framework for Building Managers

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source American Water Works Association

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Health

Stagnation within building water systems is the condition in building plumbing when water is not being used and water remains still within the plumbing network. During stagnation, water quality issues may develop. The purpose of this document is to help building managers assess and...

Actionable Solutions for Public Water Systems

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Health, Finance & Procurement, Data & Technology

Cities face a host of challenges in maintaining their water systems and supplying their communities with clean drinking water, and protecting environmental and human health through effective wastewater and stormwater management. This report is is a comprehensive guide outlining best...

The City Upstream and Down: How Integrated Water Management Can Help Cities Thrive

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2016

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source American Rivers

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources

Current strategies of managing water are outdated and ineffective at addressing aging water systems and climate change. In response, this report urges cities to adopt integrated water management, an approach to managing water that encourages coordination between all water systems...

2009 New York City Local Law 84 Benchmarking Energy and Water Usage

Type Ordinance

Year 2009

Level City or Town

State(s) New York

Source New York City Council

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Energy

This local law establishes the New York City building energy benchmarking program. Each city-owned building and covered building shall be benchmarked annually. Such information shall be made available to the public, including summary statistics on the energy utilization index, water...

Staying Green: Strategies to Improve Operations and Maintenance of Green Infrastructure in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2016

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source American Rivers

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources

Polluted stormwater runoff is one of the largest growing sources of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. To mitigate this problem, green infrastructure practices can be used to manage urban runoff by capturing and infiltrating rainwater where it falls. One of the major challenges to the...

How to Promote Smarter Water Use by Giving Consumers Access to Their Consumption Data

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2015

Level City or Town, National

State(s) All States

Source Center for Data Innovation

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Data & Technology

Most consumers do not know how much water they use on a daily basis or how their water consumption compares to that of others because they receive little information on their utility bills. As a result, consumers receive minimal feedback on how changes in their behaviors, household...

2008 Dallas Ordinance 27131 Green Buildings

Type Ordinance

Year 2008

Level City or Town

State(s) Texas

Source Dallas City Council

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Energy, Housing

The ordinance establishes a Green Building Program with the goal of being carbon neutral by 2030. The program sets goals to be met in two phases: in phase one, proposed projects must meet a minimum standard of 15% less energy usage than current minimum standards and require high-efficiency...

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