Developing a New Framework for Household Affordability and Financial Capability Assessment in the Water Sector

In anticipation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) updating its financial capability assessment (FCA) guidelines, the American Water Works Association (AWWA), the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), and the Water Environment Federation (WEF) engaged the authors of this report to provide recommendations to EPA on a new methodology and guideline for assessing household affordability and community financial capability. The purpose of this report is to detail the findings and recommendations that resulted from this association sponsored effort. This report does not address the specific mechanisms for, or timing of, integrating the proposed methodologies or derivative approaches into practice. How such changes should be made is an important future discussion topic.