Jim Williams, the sitting AWWA President, provides an illuminating interview on the utility response to COVID-19 and what the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will be. Jim addresses the basics for how utilities have responded to the pandemic, and also dives into federal legislative efforts, financial fallout and much more in a great interview. Reese Tisdale also comes on for another Bluefield on Tap to discuss the latest market developments in the water sector. In this session, you’ll learn about:

• The role of the President of AWWA and AWWA governance
• How the COVID-19 has impacted utilities in the short term
• How a pandemic utility response differs from a natural disaster response
• Strategies employed by utilities to maintain a safe and healthy workforce and protect the public health
• Utilities, vendors to utilities, and “essential services” under government stay at home orders
• Delays in utility capital programs and projects
• Federal legislation and money for utility infrastructure and loan programs
• Long-term repercussions of COVID-19, including financial repercussions, full cost of service rate recovery, and rate affordability
• Jim’s thoughts on how the COVID-19 pandemic will change and shape the water sector

Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:

• Jim’s LinkedIn page
• AWWA website
• AWWA’s Coronavirus Webpage
• TWV #146: The AWWA: Past, Present and Future with David LaFrance                                

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