To support continued water sector resiliency, EPA is conducting a voluntary survey to learn how drinking water and wastewater utilities across the country have been affected—operationally and financially—by COVID-19. EPA has pre-identified utilities for participation based on a statistically representative sample draw.

The 2020 COVID-19 Water Sector Survey will help identify and evaluate certain impacts to water utilities stemming from operational and financial challenges. This voluntary survey will facilitate the collection of useful information in a uniform format to guide the development of technical assistance which could help sustain water utility operations and to support planning for the future. Information collected in the survey will be anonymized prior to any public release.

EPA will be available to provide technical assistance to water and wastewater systems with completing the survey and answering questions. Information concerning how to request assistance will be provided in the survey instructions. EPA will use the survey data to guide the development of technical assistance which could help utilities sustain operations during the pandemic. This effort is not associated with or intended to inform any statutory requirement or regulatory action.

Release Date:  October 1, 2020. Recipients will have approximately two weeks to respond.

Questions: Send an email to COVID-19survey@epa.gov

_{This collection of information is approved by the Office of Management and Budget under the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. (OMB Control No. 2040-0301). Responses to this collection of information are voluntary. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to range from 45 to 90 minutes per response. Send comments on the Agency’s need of this information, the accuracy of the provided burden estimates, and any suggested methods for minimizing respondent burden, including through the use of automated collection techniques, to the Director, Regulatory Support Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2821T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20460. Include the OMB control number in any such correspondence. Do not send the completed survey itself to this address.}