Customer Debt and Lost Revenue: The Financial Impacts of COVID-19 on Small Community Water Systems

This report provides information on revenue losses experienced by small community water systems (SCWS) in the United States and debt accumulated by their customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 45,000 SCWS, defined as systems serving fewer than 10,000 people, exist across the United States. The pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing challenges for these water systems and for poorer communities faced with rapidly rising water bills, including financial and cyber insecurity, and the rising costs of treating new contaminants in their water and wastewater. The report includes case studies illustrating the breadth and depth of challenges SCWS face due to the COVID-19 pandemic.