by Sami Stroud | Mar 17, 2026 | Additional Support Organizations, Managerial & Financial Leadership, Utility Management, Workforce Development
Mhoon Landing water tank in Tunica County, MS. Photo courtesy of Eric Williams, Mississippi State University. Optimizing Public Water Systems Inefficiency has been a persistent challenge in managing public water systems nationwide. These inefficiencies contribute...
by Sami Stroud | Mar 11, 2026 | Wastewater, Workforce Development
Image created by Leslie Kimball, Wichita State EFC This past January I had the opportunity to present at a conference in Hilton Head, South Carolina. What was supposed to be an easy trip to a beautiful destination proved to be a trickier...
by Sami Stroud | Feb 12, 2026 | Utility Management, Wastewater, Workforce Development
Shannon Hazelton, at work in Winterset, IA and Point Hope, AK. When Shannon Hazelton entered the workforce, he never expected to spend nearly twenty years in wastewater. Yet his path—shaped by unexpected opportunities, tough environments, and a drive to keep...
by Sami Stroud | Feb 11, 2026 | Financial Management, Managerial & Financial Leadership, Utility Management, Workforce Development
The past few years have been water’s moment. Nationally, we’ve had a greater recognition of the importance of water: an understanding that water really is life, and we need to invest in it. More money than ever poured into various funding programs to allow water and...
by Sami Stroud | Feb 10, 2026 | Access to Wastewater Funding Sources, Access to Water Funding Sources, Access to Water/ Wastewater Funding Sources, Additional Support Organizations, Managerial & Financial Leadership, Partnerships, Utility Management, Workforce Development
Photo: Lawren Lu The “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) series, a joint effort between Quantified Ventures (QV) and the Environmental Finance Center Network (EFCN), has completed its first year of sessions. AMA sessions are a mix of themed session and office hours...
by Sami Stroud | Feb 10, 2026 | Financial Management, Managerial & Financial Leadership, Utility Management, Workforce Development
Similar to the roughly quarter of Americans living paycheck to paycheck, many water and wastewater systems operate without a safety net, using virtually all of its monthly revenue obtained from customer rates and fees to pay for that month’s expenses. If an emergency...
