18469_Authority_June

municipalauthorities.org | 47 Ensuring that all Americans have safe water to drink and essential wastewater services is a top priority for EPA. Each day communities and businesses depend on America’s water infrastructure for daily routines that can range from drinking a glass of water to irrigating the crops that support our food supply. Behind each of these daily routines are the hundreds of thousands of skilled workers that comprise America’s Water Sector Workforce. These “water protection specialists” provide our communities with vital water services that protect public health and the environment while driving our nation’s economy. Currently, water utilities face challenges in recruiting, training, and retaining employees. These challenges are exacerbated with roughly one-third of the water sector workforce eligible to retire in the next 10 years. Additionally, as the technologies that are used in the water sector become more advanced (e.g., state of the art water reuse technology), there is a growing need to train and employ water protection specialists with specialized technical skills. EPA and our federal partners are committed to work with states, utilities, Tribes, local governments, and other stakeholders across the water sector to ensure that the water sector workforce is strong and attracts talented individuals. Efforts are intended to serve as a catalyst for developing a robust, highly skilled water workforce for the 21 st century. This Initiative is designed to be a living endeavor that will expand as collaborating partners learn and adjust efforts to fully realize the vision we have for the water workforce. EPA looks forward to capturing innovative ideas and collaborative actions through this Initiative so the Agency can take meaningful steps to ensure America has a strong water sector workforce for generations to come. This webpage includes several products and other policy documents EPA has developed as well as links to other documents developed by various partners across the water sector including other federal agencies, professional water associations, utilities, Tribes, and states. On this page: • Interagency Water Workforce Working Group Report to Congress • Innovative Water Infrastructure Workforce Development Grant Program • America’s Water Sector Workforce Initiative • Water Utility Workforce Case Studies • Workforce Webinar Series • Federal Agency Cooperative Efforts • Other Workforce Products Source: EPA (www.epa.gov/sustainable-water-infrastructure/ water-infrastructure-sector-workforce#:~:text=Efforts%20are%2 0 intended%20to%20serve,Other%20Workforce%20Products) Introduction America’s Water Sector Workforce Initiative Cities and communities across the country are facing critical staffing shortages for the operation and maintenance of essential drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. Approximately one-third of drinking water and wastewater operators in the U.S. will be eligible to retire in the next 10 years and the water sector has been facing challenges with recruitment and retention of the skilled workers required for jobs in today’s high-tech environment. Due to the scale of this challenge and the implications for environmental and public health protections, collaboration to find solutions across federal, state, tribal and local governments as well as public utilities, the private sector, water sector associations, community groups and educational institutions is essential. The identification of these challenges and implications as well as the need for a collaborative response has led the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to launch America’s Water Sector Workforce Initiative (the Initiative). Source: EPA (epa.gov)