Water and Wastewater Workforce: Recruiting Approaches Helped Industry Hire Operators, but Additional EPA Guidance Could Help Identify Future Needs

Safe operation of the nation's water utilities depends on access to a qualified workforce, particularly certified water operators. Industry reports have cited high rates of retirement eligibility and raised concerns about the water industry's ability to fill job openings.

GAO was asked to review workforce needs within the drinking water and wastewater industry. This report describes (1) what is known about workforce needs at water utilities compared with workforce needs nationwide and effects of potential unmet workforce needs on the utilities' compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act; (2) approaches used by selected utilities to manage their workforce needs and challenges they have faced in managing those needs; and (3) ways in which federal programs can assist water utilities with workforce needs.

GAO reviewed workforce projections, relevant laws and regulations, agency documents, and industry studies and interviewed federal, local, and industry officials. GAO also conducted semi-structured interviews with a nongeneralizable sample of 11 water utilities, selected by size, location, and indications of workforce needs.

Projections from the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) suggest that workforce replacement needs for water operators are roughly similar to workforce needs nationwide across all occupations; however, little is known about the effects of any unmet needs on compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act. BLS has projected that 8.2 percent of existing water operators will need to be replaced annually between 2016 and 2026. Although BLS projections are intended to capture long-run trends, rather than to forecast precise outcomes in specific years, this predicted replacement rate is roughly similar to the predicted rate of 10.9 percent for all workers across the U.S. economy. Limited information is available to determine whether retirements, or other workforce needs, are affecting drinking water and wastewater utilities' ability to comply with the Safe Drinking Water and Clean Water acts. At a national level, neither the water utilities' industry associations nor the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has analyzed whether there is a relationship between unmet workforce needs and compliance problems. EPA relies on states to inspect utilities to ensure compliance with the acts. EPA's inspection guidance documents, for both drinking water and wastewater, advise states to examine the quality and quantity of staff operating and maintaining water utilities. However, the guidance does not advise states to examine future workforce needs. GAO has found that future workforce needs can be identified through strategic workforce planning, which involves developing long-term strategies for acquiring, developing, and retaining staff to achieve program goals. By adding questions to EPA's inspection guidance on strategic workforce planning, such as the number of positions needed in the future, EPA could help make this information available for states to assess future workforce needs. Information on future workforce needs could help states and utilities identity potential workforce issues and take action as needed.

Representatives from 11 selected water utilities reported that by using various approaches, they were generally able to meet their current workforce needs but faced some challenges in doing so. Representatives from the selected utilities said that they recruit operators using word of mouth, websites, newspapers, and partnering with local technical schools. However, representatives from small utilities said that even with these approaches, they had difficulty hiring certified operators and instead hired and trained entry-level employees. Additionally, representatives from large utilities said they face difficulties in recruiting skilled workers, such as electricians and mechanics, part of a larger national pattern.

Five federal agencies that GAO reviewed—EPA and the Departments of Agriculture (USDA), Labor (DOL), Education, and Veterans Affairs (VA)—have programs or activities that can assist utilities with their workforce needs in several ways, including through guidance, funding, and training. EPA has worked with DOL and industry groups to develop a water-sector competency model to support industry training and with VA to help place disabled veterans in water industry jobs. In addition, USDA funds personnel who travel to rural utilities to provide hands-on assistance through its Circuit Rider program. Four of five small utilities GAO interviewed said they used this program and other USDA technical assistance for training operators.

GAO recommends that EPA add strategic workforce planning questions, such as the positions and skills needed in the future, to its inspection guidance documents. EPA generally agreed with GAO's recommendation as it related to drinking water, but neither agreed nor disagreed regarding wastewater. GAO believes the entire recommendation should be implemented.

Safe operation of the nation’s drinking water and wastewater utilities  (water utilities) depends partly on continuous access to a qualified  workforce, particularly sufficient numbers of certified water operators— workers who run the equipment and control the treatment processes for  drinking water and wastewater. According to the 2016 Environmental  Protection Agency (EPA) Drinking Water Action Plan, a well-trained and  knowledgeable workforce that implements proper assessment and  management of water utility assets is vital to providing safe drinking water  and ensuring the long-term sustainability of public water systems. Yet  some reports from industry groups have cited high rates of retirement  eligibility and raised concerns about the potential rate of worker loss and  water utilities’ future ability to fill job openings.

Staffing is largely a responsibility of the utilities themselves, but EPA and  other agencies offer support for workforce development. EPA regulates  drinking water and wastewater quality through the implementation of the  Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act, respectively, and both  acts authorize EPA and the states to provide technical assistance to  water utilities, which can be used to increase the technical knowledge and  abilities of water operators. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)  provides technical assistance to rural utilities through its Rural Utilities  Service Water and Environmental Programs. Other federal agencies,  including the Departments of Education, Labor (DOL), and Veterans  Affairs (VA), have programs that offer support to employers and workers  in a number of industries, and those programs are available to water  utilities. DOL also measures labor market activity and working conditions  in the overall U.S economy through its Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  BLS collects, analyzes, and disseminates economic information, including  nationwide employment projections for 10 years in the future.

You asked us to review workforce replacement needs—that is, the  number of job openings for which employers replace workers who leave  their current occupation—within the drinking water and wastewater  industry. This report (1) examines what is known about workforce needs  at water utilities compared with workforce needs nationwide and any  effects of potential unmet workforce needs on the utilities’ abilities to  comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act; (2)  describes approaches selected water utilities have used to manage their  workforce needs and challenges they have faced in managing those  needs; and (3) describes ways key federal programs can assist water  utilities with their workforce needs.

To examine what is known about workforce needs at water utilities  compared with workforce needs nationwide, we assessed and  summarized data on workforce replacement rates provided by BLS and  examined projected retirement rates provided by industry studies. We  focused on projections of workforce turnover from 2016 to 2026 and  estimates of employee retirement eligibility published from 2008 to 2016,  the most recent data available to us. To assess the reliability of BLS data,  we reviewed relevant documentation and information from BLS staff for  the most recent data available for the two relevant BLS survey  programs—one that collects data on wage and salary workers in about  800 occupations and one surveying households about labor force  participation—and for BLS employment projections for 2016-2026. We  determined that the BLS survey and projection data were sufficiently  reliable for purposes of our objective. We identified a number of relevant  industry studies including three surveys published by the American Water  Works Association between 2015 and 2017. To assess the reliability of  the industry studies, we reviewed their scope and methodology. Although  the industry estimates were not generalizable, the studies were  sufficiently reliable for illustrating the industry’s perspectives on workforce  planning.

To examine the effects of potential unmet workforce needs on water  utilities’ abilities to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean  Water Act, we selected a sample of 11 water utilities—6 large and 5  small—based on geography, size, and indications of hiring challenges in  the past. We included both large and small utilities in our selection based  on our initial interviews with industry representatives that suggested that  large utilities and small utilities have experienced different challenges. We  asked officials of the selected utilities whether workforce challenges had  affected their abilities to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act and the  Clean Water Act at their utilities and whether they anticipated effects on  utility operations in the future. The information from those interviews is not  generalizable to the national population of water utilities; it is intended to  provide illustrative examples of difficulties selected water utilities have  experienced in complying with the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean  Water Act that they attributed to workforce challenges. We also obtained  EPA data on compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean  Water Act for the selected utilities. We have previously reviewed the  quality of EPA compliance data. We determined that although the data  were incomplete, they were useful to provide a rough indication of  compliance; however, the violations may be underreported and, therefore,  we cannot use the data to provide a precise indication of compliance.

To describe the approaches that selected water utilities have used to  manage their workforce needs and the challenges they have faced in  managing those needs over the past 5 years (from 2012 to 2016), we  spoke with utility officials, during the interviews described above, to learn  about their hiring and retirement numbers, challenges in managing  workforce needs, and approaches for hiring staff.

To describe how key federal programs can assist water utilities with their  workforce needs, we conducted background research and initial  interviews with federal officials. We identified five federal agencies that  conduct activities or provide funding related to the water utility workforce:  EPA, USDA, Education, DOL, and VA. We interviewed officials with these  agencies about current or past federal programs and policies related to  water utilities’ workforce needs. We did not attempt to identify all  programs that can provide assistance to water utilities for workforce  planning or recruitment, but we determined based on interviews at the  five agencies that we had identified the programs for which providing  such assistance was a primary purpose or likely use. Additionally, we  interviewed representatives from the selected utilities we contacted to  determine whether and how they had used various federal programs or  assistance to augment other planning and recruitment strategies and  what problems, if any, they had in using the programs. A more detailed  description of the scope and methodology of our review is presented in  appendix I.

We conducted this performance audit from September 2016 to January  2018, in accordance with generally accepted government auditing  standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to  obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for  our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe  that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings  and conclusions based on our audit objectives.

The section presents information on (1) water utilities and water  operators, (2) federal and state roles in overseeing and assisting water  utilities, and (3) federal and state roles in workforce development.

Water utilities provide drinking water and wastewater services, including  drinking water treatment and distribution and wastewater collection,  treatment, and discharge. Figure 1 shows the processes for treating and  distributing drinking water and for collecting, treating, and discharging  wastewater, which are overseen by water operators. Fresh water is  pumped from wells, rivers, streams, or reservoirs to water treatment  plants, where it is treated and distributed to customers. Wastewater  travels through sewer pipes to wastewater treatment plants where it is  treated and returned to streams, rivers, and oceans.

Water utilities are organized differently depending on the city or  community they serve. For example, drinking water service may be  provided by one utility, and wastewater service may be provided by a  separate utility, or a single utility may provide both services. Regardless  of the configuration, a utility can be owned and managed by a  municipality, county, independent district or authority, private company, or  not-for-profit water association, among others. Utilities may serve a city  and neighboring area, a county, or multiple counties. As of January 2016,  there were about 52,000 drinking water and 16,000 wastewater utilities in  the United States. These water utilities vary widely in the number of  people they serve, but the majority of water utilities in the United States  serve fewer than 10,000 people.

Water utilities employ a broad range of workers, including water  operators; engineers; customer service representatives; accountants;  legal support; and skilled technical occupations, such as electricians,  machinists, and instrument technicians. It is difficult to find an estimate of  total workforce at water utilities, but BLS reported that as of December  2016 employment in industries related to water utilities—including local  government utilities (both water and energy utilities); water, sewage, and  other systems; and water and sewer system construction—totaled  478,700. A study commissioned by the American Water Works  Association estimated that 55 percent of water utility employees are water  operators; of the remainder, 20 percent work in customer service and  metering, and 25 percent work in administration of various kinds. The  number of water operators at individual water utilities depends partly on  the size of the population the utility serves. Large utilities may have  dozens of water operators supported by a staff of customer service  representatives, electricians, instrument technicians, machinists, and  plumbers. In contrast, utilities in rural communities may have a single  water operator who is sometimes tasked with additional duties.

Water operators at drinking water utilities run the equipment, control the  processes, and monitor the plants that treat water to make it safe to drink.  Water operators at wastewater utilities do similar work to remove  pollutants from domestic and industrial wastewater before it is reused or  released into a receiving body of water. Many duties of water operators  are technical and water operators need knowledge, skills, and abilities in  science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The list of  academic competencies described in the DOL Water and Wastewater  Competency Model for employment in the drinking water and wastewater  industry includes calculating averages, ratios, proportions, and rates;  translating practical problems into useful mathematical expressions; and  understanding biology, chemistry, and physics. Water operators need to  be able to prepare chemicals and confirm chemical strength, adjust  chemical feed rates and flows, and understand software and equipment  used for industrial process control, such as supervisory control and data  acquisition software and systems. (See fig. 2). Industry representatives  we interviewed told us that as drinking and wastewater treatment  processes become more technologically advanced, water operators  increasingly will need to have more advanced technical skills.

Water operators must meet specialized certification requirements, which  are overseen by state regulators. A number of 2-year and 4-year colleges  offer programs across the country that provide training for individuals  seeking certification as water operators. For drinking water operators,  regulations under the Safe Drinking Water Act establish minimum  standards for certifications. Each state must implement a water operator  certification program that meets the requirements of these guidelines or  that is substantially equivalent to these guidelines. The Clean Water Act  does not have similar minimum requirements for wastewater operators,  and certification standards are established by the states. Accordingly,  there is no single standard national certification. Even though there has  been an industry effort to harmonize the certification requirements across  states for both drinking water and wastewater operators, reciprocity of  certification between different states remains limited.

Federal and State Roles in Overseeing and Assisting Utilities

EPA regulates water utilities under the Safe Drinking Water Act and the  Clean Water Act. Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, EPA establishes  and enforces standards for public water systems, including drinking water  utilities, that generally limit the levels of specific contaminants in drinking  water that can adversely affect public health; attaining and maintaining  these levels typically requires water treatment. Under the Clean Water  Act, EPA regulates discharge of pollutants from point sources such as  municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants, and stormwater  discharges from industrial facilities and municipal sewer systems. EPA’s  Office of Enforcement and Compliance has established national  enforcement goals and works with state and tribal governments and other  federal agencies to enforce the nation’s environmental laws, including the  Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act.

EPA authorizes most states to have primary enforcement responsibility—  “primacy”—for the Safe Drinking Water Act, if the state meets certain  requirements. Similarly, EPA authorizes most states to operate their  own clean water discharge permitting program (also called primacy) in  lieu of the federal program if the state program meets certain  requirements. EPA regulations require states to have inspection  programs for drinking water utilities—called sanitary surveys—to maintain  their primacy. EPA regulations also require states to conduct periodic compliance inspections of wastewater utilities. These inspections support  EPA’s monitoring of compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act and  Clean Water Act. EPA provides states with guidance for evaluating the  utilities. Inspections of drinking water utilities include eight areas of  review: water sources, treatment plants, distributions systems, finished  water storage, pumping facilities, monitoring plans and treatment records,  management and operations, and water operator compliance with  certification requirements. The inspections also function as an opportunity  for state agencies to educate drinking water operators about proper  monitoring and sampling procedures and to provide technical assistance.  The goal of the inspections is to ensure that the utility can supply safe  drinking water. For wastewater utilities, the inspections are more narrowly  focused on monitoring the utilities’ compliance with their Clean Water Act  obligations. The goals of the wastewater utility inspections include  identifying and documenting noncompliance and gathering evidence to  support enforcement actions.

States receive federal funding for infrastructure projects and technical  assistance under the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act. EPA  provides annual funding to states through its Drinking Water and Clean  Water State Revolving Fund programs. States use this funding to support  water infrastructure projects and to provide assistance to communities.  Specifically, portions of a state’s annual EPA funding may be used for  implementation of, among other things, capacity development and water  operator certification programs. Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, states  are required to implement water operator certification programs, and EPA  is required to withhold 20 percent of a state’s Drinking Water State  Revolving Funds if the state fails to do so. Under the Clean Water Act,  states may use their Clean Water State Revolving Funds to provide  assistance to any qualified nonprofit entity, to provide technical  assistance to owners and operators of small- and medium-sized publicly  owned wastewater treatment utilities to, among other things, help them  achieve compliance with the act.

Water utilities in rural communities also receive funding and technical  assistance provided by USDA’s Rural Utilities Service. The Rural Utilities  Service provides funding for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure  projects in rural communities. The Rural Utilities Service is one of three  agencies under Rural Development—a USDA mission area focused on  improving the economy and quality of life in rural America by providing  financial programs to support essential public facilities and services such  as drinking water and sewer systems, housing, health care, emergency  service facilities, and electric and telephone service. The Rural Utilities  Service’s Water and Environmental Programs provide loans, grants, and  loan guarantees for drinking water, sanitary sewer, solid waste, and storm  drainage facilities in rural areas. The Rural Utilities Service also provides  funding for technical assistance to rural water utilities through a contract  with the National Rural Water Association and grants to other nonprofit  organizations.

Federal and State Roles in Workforce Development

Workforce development in the United States is driven by a variety of  private and public investments in workforce education and development.  Under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, the federal  government has programs, administered primarily by DOL and Education,  that provide a combination of education and training services to help job  seekers obtain employment. Through these programs, DOL provides  grants to states to provide funding for employment and training programs.  Although the public workforce system receives federal funds, states may  choose to add their own funding, and most of the system’s services for  businesses and job seekers are delivered at the state and local levels. In  implementing the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, enacted in  2014, each state is to have a state-level workforce development board  that develops strategies for providing outreach to individuals and  employers and identifies in-demand industries.

Helping ensure that the workforce system focuses on regional and local  economies, each state is divided into one or more workforce areas, led by  a local workforce development board. The local boards are responsible  for, among other things, analyzing the employment needs of employers  and the workforce development activities (including education and  training) in the region. According to DOL, workforce boards are also  responsible for determining how many American Job Centers are  needed in their area, where these centers will be located, and how they  will be operated. There are about 2,500 American Job Centers across the  United States that offer many resources under one roof. The typical  center serves individuals seeking employment. Centers also work with  employers to assess hiring needs; find qualified candidates, including  veterans; connect to training options for new and current employees; and  provide other workforce-related assistance.

Data Suggest Need for Water Operators Resembles Workforce Needs across All Occupations, but Little Is Known about Effects of Any Unmet Needs on Compliance

Data available from BLS suggest that the workforce replacement needs  for water operators are similar to workforce replacement needs  nationwide across all occupations. However, little information is available  about the current and future effects of any unmet workforce needs on  utilities’ abilities to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean  Water Act.

BLS Projections Indicate That the Replacement Needs for Water Operators Resemble the National Average for All Occupations

BLS projections suggest that the workforce replacement needs for water  operators are similar to workforce replacement needs nationwide across  all occupations. BLS uses survey estimates and economic models to  project future employment in specific occupations; the latest such  projections are for the 10-year period from 2016 through 2026. BLS  intends its projections to capture the long-run trend, direction, and growth  of the labor force rather than to predict precise outcomes in specific  years. As of October 2017, the most recent projections indicate that the  replacement needs for water operators—resulting from retirement or  other separations—are relatively similar to the projected national annual  average of replacement needs across all occupations (8.2 percent versus  10.9 percent, respectively). BLS projects that there will be an annual  average of 9,200 job openings for water operators between 2016 and  2026. It also projects a slight decline in overall employment for water  operators because of increasing automation at water utilities; this  decline contrasts with total employment across all occupations, which is  projected to increase by an annual average of 1,151,850 jobs. On  average, for years during this the 10-year period, BLS projects that about  8 percent of water operator jobs will be filled by workers replacing those  who are separating from the occupation, and about 92 percent will be  filled by workers staying in the water operator occupation. In comparison,  over the same period for workers across all occupations, a projected  annual average of about 1 percent of jobs will filled because of growth,  about 11 percent by workers replacing those separating from their  occupation, and about 88 percent by workers staying in their occupation  from the previous year. (See fig. 3.)

BLS tracks growth and workforce replacement projections for the water  operator occupation, but not for water utilities; however, the water  operator position is concentrated at publicly and privately owned drinking  water and wastewater utilities. BLS estimates from May 2016 (the latest  data set with data by type of employer) show that about 77 percent of  water operators were employed by local governments—this percentage  represents those employed at water utilities owned by cities and  municipalities. Water, sewage, and other systems employed about  another estimated 12 percent of water operators, which are primarily in  privately owned drinking water and wastewater utilities. The remaining  water operators (about 11 percent) were employed in state government or  in various other private industries, such as waste treatment and disposal  (e.g., solid waste, among other things).

BLS data indicate that the median age of water operators in 2016 was  slightly older than the national median age of the workforce across all  occupations. BLS does not collect information on tenure, retirement age,  or retirement eligibility of workers; however, the 2016 Current Population  Survey shows that 24.7 percent of water operators were age 55 or older,  compared with 22.7 percent of the total U.S. workforce. The data also  show that in 2016, the median age for water operators was 46.4,  compared with the median age across all occupations of 42.2.

Industry reports from 2008 to 2010 included retirement eligibility  estimates of as high as 30 to 50 percent of the water utility workforce.  However, industry representatives we interviewed told us that many  workers postponed retirement during the recession that began in  December 2007, thus reducing the industry’s hiring needs. The  representatives added that retirements may increase as the overall U.S.  economy continues to expand. In addition, industry representatives said  that workers in the water industry tend to have a long tenure in their jobs,  often working several years past the earliest age at which they meet the  requirements for full retirement.

In addition to water operators, larger water utilities employ a broad range  of workers, including skilled workers, such as electricians and machinists,  as described above. While BLS does not provide employment projections  specific to water utilities for these occupations, it does provide national  employment projections for these occupations that can be illustrative. The  future demand for such workers—as represented by projected job growth  and occupational separations rates—is shown in table 1. BLS defines  the growth rate as the estimated percentage change in the projected  number of jobs added or lost in a U.S. occupation or industry over a given  period. The occupational separations rate is the sum of the projected  percentage of workers exiting the labor force because of retirements or  other reasons (“labor force exit rate”) and the projected percentage of  workers transferring to different occupations (“occupational transfer rate”).  Higher than average growth rates for the electrical and plumbing  occupations, as well as higher occupational separations rates than the  water operator occupation, suggest that the water industry will need to  compete with other employers in faster-growing sectors, such as  construction, for workers in these high-demand occupations.

Limited Information Is Available on Unmet Workforce Needs and Their Effects on Compliance, and EPA Has Not Prompted States to Collect Information on Future Needs

Little is known about whether unmet workforce needs are affecting water  utilities’ overall abilities to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act and  Clean Water Act. At a national level, neither the water utilities’ industry  associations nor EPA has analyzed whether there is a relationship  between unmet workforce needs and compliance problems. Some water  utility industry associations have analyzed projected employee retirement  eligibility and employee turnover, but these studies did not analyze the  potential effect of these retirements on utilities’ operations. The 2010  Water Sector Workforce Sustainability Initiative study sponsored by the  Water Research Foundation and the American Water Works Association  provides the most recent, broad industry evaluation of workforce  challenges at water utilities. That study outlined projected workforce  challenges caused by impending retirements and shifting demographics  in the U.S. labor market, but it did not address specific operational  impacts related to those retirements. Similarly, the American Water  Works Association’s annual benchmarking surveys collect data on  utilities’ water and wastewater regulatory compliance rates; however, the  association does not analyze whether there is a relationship between  retirement eligibility and regulatory compliance.

Water utilities and industry associations have some planned and ongoing  work to learn more about workforce needs at water utilities. For example,  representatives from one of the selected large utilities that we interviewed  told us that a group of 16 large water utilities are informally working  together to address workforce challenges and have proposed a major  applied research project with the objectives of (1) exploring in greater  depth the specific occupations, skills, and career pathways that can  bridge the water sector’s looming employment gap; (2) clarifying the  range of water jobs available at a regional level; (3) identifying the  potential pools of labor to fill these positions; and (4) exploring new  development strategies to equip workers with the skills they need.  Additionally, the Water Environment and Reuse Foundation is  participating in an international Workforce Skills of the Future project to  analyze future work scenarios and their impact on the water sector and  develop recommendations for how the sector can prepare for and  accommodate new capabilities and future skills in the water sector.

The utilities we interviewed had experienced compliance problems with  the Safe Drinking Water and Clean Water acts and some difficulties in  hiring certified water operators and other skilled workers. In our interviews  with representatives of selected water utilities, the representatives  reported that they had experienced some difficulties in hiring operators  but that those difficulties had not had an effect on their utilities’  compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act or Clean Water Act to date.  However, the representatives from 6 of the 11 selected utilities reported  that their difficulties in replacing workers had resulted in a greater use of  overtime to meet workload demands.

We reviewed EPA compliance violation data for the selected utilities and  found that all of the utilities had at least one violation of either the Safe  Drinking Water Act or Clean Water Act within the last 10 years; however,  it was not possible to determine whether workforce challenges  contributed to these violations. The violations represented a range of  issues including exceeding the maximum contaminant levels in drinking  water; failing to conduct regular monitoring of drinking water quality or to  submit monitoring results in a timely fashion to the state agency or EPA;  violating public notification requirements, which require systems to alert  consumers if there is a serious problem with their drinking water; and  failing to issue annual Consumer Confidence Reports. According to  EPA officials, utilities may have violations for a number of reasons,  including equipment breakdowns or impaired quality of source water,  which makes water treatment more difficult. Because the compliance data  is not specific enough to indicate the source of the problem, it was not  possible for us to independently verify whether the compliance violations  were linked to utilities’ difficulties in replacing workers.

EPA relies on states to inspect utilities and ensure compliance with  requirements under the Safe Drinking Water and Clean Water acts.  EPA’s inspection guidance—for both drinking water sanitary surveys and  wastewater compliance inspections—advises states to examine the  adequacy of water utilities’ workforces—that is, the quality and quantity of  staff operating and maintaining drinking water and wastewater facilities.  EPA requires states to report some inspection information, including  whether there are management issues at a utility. EPA officials told us that, on the basis of their conversations with state regulators, they believe  states are collecting information about workforce adequacy during state  inspections of drinking water utilities. For wastewater utilities, EPA  officials stated that in the course of conducting an on-site inspection,  inspectors will ask plant managers and staff questions about staffing and  should note concerns in their inspection reports. EPA officials said that  collecting workforce information at the state level is beneficial for the  states and the drinking water utilities so that they can take steps to  implement strategies to address the utilities’ workforce needs. The  officials said state regulators can find patterns in utilities’ compliance  reporting data that alert them to the likelihood that a utility is experiencing  operational issues, such as losing a certified water operator. In those  instances, an EPA official told us, state regulators work with the utility to  help identify solutions, such as locating a nearby water operator who can  contract with the utility on a part-time basis until it can hire a permanent  water operator. EPA officials further stated that they believe state  regulators are using the workforce information to help build capacity at  drinking water utilities and prioritize training.

However, the EPA inspection guidance that states currently use in  conducting sanitary surveys for drinking water utilities and compliance  inspections of wastewater utilities outlines criteria for evaluating existing  workforce issues but does not address workforce issues that could affect  utility operations, and potentially compliance, in the future. The guidance  contains suggested assessment criteria that focus on whether there is an  adequate number of qualified staff in the existing workforce to perform the  work required. For example, the guidance for drinking water utilities states  that the utility should have enough personnel to enable continuous  operation of the treatment plant at all times and that staff should be able  to perform operations and maintenance tasks regularly with little or no  overtime hours. The inspection guidance does not contain similar  questions that focus on whether there will be an adequate number of  qualified staff in the future workforce to perform the work required.  According to our December 2003 report, strategic workforce planning  focuses on developing of long-term strategies for acquiring, developing,  and retaining an organization’s total workforce to meet the needs of the  future. In that report, we stated that while agencies’ approaches to  workforce planning will vary, there are five key principles that strategic  workforce planning should address irrespective of the context in which the  planning is done. These principles include: determining the critical skills and competencies that will be needed to  achieve current and future programmatic results, and developing strategies that are tailored to address gaps in number,  deployment, and alignment of human capital approaches for enabling  and sustaining the contributions of all critical skills and competencies.

According to our interviews with selected utilities, five of the six large  utilities had conducted workforce planning, while none of the small utilities  had conducted such planning. By amending its inspection guidance with  questions on strategic workforce planning—such as any potential gaps in  critical skills and strategies to address any gaps in the number of water  operator positions to meet the needs of the future—EPA could ensure  that such information is available for states to assess future water utility  workforce needs. Information on future workforce needs could help the  states and water utilities identity potential workforce issues and take  action as needed. According to EPA officials, they have not considered  amending inspection questions but have heard that future workforce  issues are a concern to the states and the industry and said that making  such changes could be helpful to develop workforce strategies that  address the specific needs of a state or regional area.

Selected Utilities Managed Their Workforce Needs Using a Mix of Approaches but Reported Ongoing Challenges Hiring Water Operators and Other Skilled Workers

Representatives from selected utilities that we interviewed reported using  a mix of various approaches to meet their workforce needs. However, the  selected large utilities reported ongoing hiring challenges with skilled  technical workers such as machinists, electricians, and pipefitters.

Selected Utilities Used a Mix of Approaches to Manage their Workforce Needs

The representatives from the selected utilities reported that by using  various approaches, they were generally able to hire water operators, but  they faced some challenges in doing so. The number of water operator  vacancies at each of the six selected large utilities in the spring of 2017,  as reported by the utilities’ representatives, ranged from 2 to 60,  representing a range of about 2 to 15 percent of the utilities’ water  operator workforces. Only one of the five selected small utilities had a  water operator vacancy in the spring of 2017. That utility had 1 vacancy  among its workforce of 44 water operator positions. When we asked  representatives of selected large utilities for their top three recruitment  approaches for water operators, their responses included advertisements  on their own websites, “word of mouth,” advertising with professional  water organizations, partnering with a local technical college, and use of  general-purpose websites (not owned by the utility or a professional water  organization). Similarly, responses from representatives of selected small  utilities included “word of mouth,” local newspapers, advertisements  through professional water organizations, advertisements on general- purpose employment websites, and outreach to the local veterans’ office.

We also asked the representatives of the selected large and small utilities  about various water operator recruitment approaches described to us by  association representatives or noted in industry publications. These  approaches included recruiting from other states, working with local  workforce boards and American Job Centers, establishing formal  apprenticeships, reaching out to recruit veterans, and partnering with  local technical and postsecondary schools. The representatives of large  utilities reported that they used some of the approaches to varying  degrees, but none of these representatives reported using all of them.  The two most commonly used approaches of the selected large utilities (4  of the 6) were a partnership with one or more local community colleges to  offer water treatment education, followed by reaching out to recruit  veterans (3 of the 6). Representatives of one of the large utilities said they  also had a partnership with a high school. Representatives of another  large utility indicated that although they had access to local trade schools,  the schools did not provide good candidates for the utility’s jobs.

Representatives of one large utility said that the utility recruits out of state  to find water operators with at least a minimum set of qualifications and a  license because it lacks a local pool of water operators from which it can  recruit. However, representatives of another large utility indicated that  many water operators do not like to move from one state to another, and  therefore it is difficult to recruit in other states. Representatives of the  selected large utilities were divided about whether a national standard  certification for water operators would help with worker availability or  recruiting. For example, one utility’s representatives said that a national  standard certification would not help in recruitment, while representatives  of another indicated that a uniform, transferable skill set, as represented  by a national certification, would be helpful.

Representatives of the five selected small utilities reported that they  generally had not used the various recruiting approaches about which we  inquired. For example, according to their representatives, none of the  small utilities recruited out-of-state water operators, in part because they  preferred to recruit locally or they would not be able to attract such water  operators with the relatively low compensation they could offer. In  contrast to larger utilities, representatives of four of the selected small  utilities told us they did not have a partnership with a trade school or a  community college to offer water treatment education for various reasons,  including filling key needs elsewhere and a lack of focus on water  education at the technical college.

Selected Utilities Reported Ongoing Challenges Hiring Water Operators and Other Skilled Workers

Selected utilities reported ongoing challenges hiring water operators and  other skilled workers. Representatives of all six selected large utilities told  us that they had attempted to hire water operators during the past 5 years  and, with one exception, they described hiring water operators as  “somewhat difficult.” Reasons they described for this difficulty included a  lack of candidates with a STEM background, a distaste for shift work  among younger employees, the lack of a local pool of candidates, and  low pay. Representatives of three of the selected large utilities said hiring  to replace departing water operators had been a problem in the past, but  there was no consensus among the three on whether the problem was  increasing, decreasing, or staying about the same. The utility that  indicated the problem was decreasing cited two steps it had taken to  address it: expanding its geographical search and improving its internal  training program. Five of the selected large utilities reported that replacing  retiring water operators was currently a problem, and three of them  indicated that it could become one over the next 5 years for reasons such  as water operators having to perform rotating shift work and fewer  qualified candidates than in the past. The percentage of water operators  eligible to retire over the next 5 years, compared to the total number of  water operator positions in the six large utilities, ranged from a low of 100  out of 507 (about 20 percent) to 68 out of 136 (50 percent), the  representatives told us.

Representatives of selected small utilities generally reported challenges  recruiting and hiring certified water operators. Representatives of four of  the five selected small utilities noted that replacing retiring water  operators could become a problem over the next 5 years; these  representatives often cited an inability to compete with larger utilities on  compensation for certified water operators, in particular. Some  representatives told us that, although they would have preferred to hire  certified water operators for some of their vacancies, they often decided  to hire and train an entry-level person, for whom there was less  competition regarding compensation. Small utilities were roughly split  regarding whether retirements had increased or remained about the  same. Representatives of two small utilities told us that, over the past 5  years, the number of water operators retiring each year increased, but  representatives of the other three reported that the number remained  about the same. Representatives of two small utilities told us they have  no water operators eligible for retirement during the next 5 years, and  representatives of the other three small utilities reported that the number  of water operators eligible to retire compared to the total number of water  operator positions was, respectively, 2 of 6, 3 of 8, and 4 of 44. A  representative of only one of the five small utilities reported difficulties  recruiting skilled workers in professions other than water operators, and  those professions are administrative and bookkeeping.

Skilled Technical Occupations  Considerable attention has been given in  recent years to the question of whether the  U.S. economy has a shortage of workers in  skilled technical occupations—occupations  that require a high level of knowledge in a  technical area but do not require a 4-year  college degree. The National Academies of  Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine  convened a committee to examine the  coverage, effectiveness, flexibility, and  coordination of the policies and programs that  prepare Americans for skilled technical jobs.  The committee organized a national  symposium, held in June 2015, bringing  together researchers, industry  representatives, policymakers, and other  stakeholders involved in technical workforce  education and training. The committee’s  report, issued in 2017, contained many  findings including: (1) the United States is  experiencing, and will continue to experience,  imbalances in the supply of and demand for  skilled technical workers in certain  occupations, industry sectors, and locations;  (2) the nature of the problem differs across  sectors and locations; (3) these imbalances  arise from multiple sources; (4) the evidence  suggests that, as a nation, the United States  is not adequately developing and sustaining a  workforce with the skills needed to compete in  the 21st century.

Representatives of the selected large utilities reported that, outside of  water operators, the positions most difficult to fill are for other skilled  workers such as machinists; electricians; pipefitters (also called  “steamfitters”); and heating, ventilating, and air conditioning mechanics.  The representatives of those utilities said that, in their experience, the  number of young adults interested in the skilled technical occupations is  decreasing. A representative of one small utility noted that it is difficult for  trade schools and community colleges to offer courses in occupations for  which student interest is declining. Because of projected reductions in the  supply of such workers as the “baby boom” generation continues to retire  over the next decade, the drinking water and wastewater industry has  been one of many that have cited the “skills gap” and the need for a  “pipeline” of future workers as developing problems as they attempt to fill  vacancies caused by retirements. Representatives of some of the large  utilities and industry associations we interviewed said that there are  difficulties in filling certain skilled worker positions, particularly when local  economic factors—including competition from other sectors such as  construction—make it difficult to hire skilled technical workers if the local  economy is near or at full employment.

Key Federal Programs Have Several Ways to Assist Utilities with Workforce Needs, and Selected Utilities Accessed Some of Those Programs

The five federal agencies we reviewed—EPA, USDA, Education, DOL,  and VA—have programs that can assist utilities with their workforce  needs in several ways, including through guidance, funding, and training.  The selected utilities that we interviewed accessed federal programs to  help meet their workforce needs in some instances.

Five Federal Agencies Have Key Programs That Can Provide Utilities with Guidance, Funding, and Training to Help Meet Workforce Needs

Key programs in EPA, USDA, Education, DOL, and VA can assist utilities  with workforce needs in the ways described below.

EPA has several programs that can provide funding, through the states,  for technical assistance to help water utilities meet their workforce needs.  For example, EPA’s national Training and Technical Assistance for Small  Systems competitive grant provides, on average, $12 million per year to  give managerial and financial training to utilities, particularly small utilities.  Additionally, officials stated that between 1997 and 2012, EPA provided  $134 million to help utilities train their water operator workforce and  enable their water operators to gain certification through the Operator  Certification Expense Reimbursement Grants program; however, this  program ended in 2012. EPA’s Public Water System Supervision Grant  program provides grants to states for activities to implement drinking  water regulations—activities that have included providing technical  assistance to utilities, such as training to operators to ensure they are  knowledgeable about the best operation and treatment practices. In  addition, states may use up to 10 percent of the funding they receive for  the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund allotment for specified program  management activities, including the development and implementation of  water operator certification programs.

In addition to funding technical assistance, EPA has assisted in efforts to  attract new employees to the drinking water and wastewater industry. For  example, in 2010 EPA partnered with the American Water Works  Association and the Water Environment Federation to highlight the need  for qualified professionals to enter the drinking water and wastewater  industry. As part of those efforts, EPA produced a set of videos called  “Water You Waiting For?” to encourage high school and vocational  technical school students to consider employment in the industry. EPA  officials also told us that based on industry requests, EPA has taken the  lead in coordinating with other federal agencies to help develop a pool of  potential certified water operators. EPA has also collaborated with DOL,  USDA, and VA to assist drinking water and wastewater utilities in meeting  their workforce replacement needs. For example, in 2009, EPA worked  with DOL and industry groups to develop a competency model for the  water sector, which was updated in 2016. The model defines the  necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities for prospective water  professionals and can be used by educational institutions and industries  to encourage prospective job seekers to consider a career in the water  and wastewater industry by helping job seekers develop a career  pathway and associated training and career advancement strategies that  meet industry skill needs. EPA has also entered into memorandums of  understanding with USDA and VA, as discussed below.

In 2011, USDA and EPA signed a memorandum of agreement to support  a series of activities to help small water and wastewater systems face the  challenges of aging infrastructure, increased regulatory requirements,  workforce shortages, increasing costs, and declining rate bases. Part of  that agreement focused on the water industry workforce. Among other  things, USDA and EPA agreed to develop strategies for overcoming  challenges specific to recruitment and retention of small utility water  operators and to promote the use of contract water operators to fill  workforce gaps in rural communities. As part of this effort, USDA and  EPA also agreed to focus on the sustainability of rural utilities by  coordinating activities and financial assistance resources to increase the  technical, managerial, and financial capacity of rural drinking water and  wastewater systems nationwide. This resulted in the development of a  training workshop, the Sustainable Rural and Small Utility Management  Initiative—”Workshop in a Box”—that covers a variety of topics, including  some related to evaluating workforce needs. USDA reported that in  fiscal year 2016, the technical assistance providers conducted more than  100 workshops, with at least one in each of the 50 states and Puerto  Rico.

USDA’s Rural Utilities Service provides technical assistance to small rural  utilities through two programs: Technical Assistance and Training grants  and the Circuit Rider program. The Technical Assistance and Training  grants provide funds to private nonprofit organizations to help  communities with water or wastewater systems by providing free  technical assistance and training for rural water operators, other water  utility staff and managers, and water utility board members. In fiscal year  2016, 24 nonprofit organizations received funding totaling about $20  million to provide technical assistance to rural water utilities. In addition,  under the Circuit Rider program, the Rural Utilities Service contracts with  the National Rural Water Association to provide staff in each of the 50  states who offer technical assistance on day-to-day operational,  managerial, and financial issues. Specifically, according to the National  Rural Water Association, staff known as “circuit riders” work on site with  rural water utility personnel to troubleshoot problems, evaluate alternative  technological solutions, recommend operational improvements, assist  with leak detection, respond to natural disasters and other emergencies,  and provide hands-on training, among other things. In fiscal year 2016,  USDA provided about $16 million for the Circuit Rider program.

DOL provides funding to states to operate the public workforce system  under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Under this act, DOL  funds American Job Centers, where potential employees can seek  information on job openings. Employers, such as industries or utilities,  can notify the centers of the need for applicants, and the centers can then  refer potential applicants to the industry.  In addition, if requested to do so  by industry associations or companies, DOL can work with them to  develop registered apprenticeship programs through DOL’s Office of  Apprenticeship. As of September 2017, 24 water utilities across the  country were training new employees through registered apprenticeships  that combined structured learning with on-the-job training with an  assigned mentor. (See app. II for a list of apprenticeships in the water  industry that are registered with DOL’s Office of Apprenticeship.) In  addition, the National Rural Water Association recently developed a  registered apprenticeship program for rural utilities. According to DOL  officials, the program began in Indiana on August 10, 2017, and as of  September 7, 2017 two additional states—California and Colorado—were  expected to join the apprenticeship program.

In addition to funding under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity  Act, between 2011 and 2014, DOL awarded $1.9 billion in capacity- building grants to community colleges through the Trade Adjustment  Assistance Community College and Career Training grant program.  Grantees identified in-demand industries and sectors in their proposals  and were required to partner with workforce boards. At least seven  grantee colleges proposed to develop or upgrade programs of study  related to water and wastewater utilities. For example, Salina Area  Technical College (Kansas) developed an environmental technology  associate’s degree program focusing on water quality and wastewater  treatment management.

Through multiple grant programs, Education provides funding for states  and community and technical colleges, including a number of community  and technical colleges that offer programs to prepare individuals for  careers in the drinking water and wastewater industry. Examples of  such colleges include Kirkwood Community College (Iowa), Moraine Park  Technical College (Wisconsin), and Bay College (Michigan). According to  agency documentation, three funding mechanisms can be used to fill the  training and employment needs of the water and wastewater industry:

Funding under the Perkins Act is available for state agencies and  eligible local educational agencies and postsecondary education  providers.

Funding under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act is  available to state agencies and eligible providers for, among other  things, integrated education and training, which is a service approach  that provides adult education and literacy activities concurrently and  contextually with workforce preparation activities and workforce  training for a specific occupations.

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 provides funding for training and job  placement services for individuals with disabilities through state  vocational rehabilitation agencies. According to agency  documentation, from fiscal years 2013 through 2016, nationwide in  this program, 40 to 50 program participants per year obtained  employment as operators in the drinking water and wastewater  industry. secondary and postsecondary education students who elect to enroll in career and  technical education programs. The Adult Education and Family Literacy Act provides  funds to states, which grant these funds to eligible providers to assist adults in, among  other things, becoming literate or achieving proficiency in English, obtaining the  knowledge and skills necessary for employment and self-sufficiency, and completing a  secondary school education. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 provides funding to states for  vocational rehabilitation services, such as counseling, job training, and job search  assistance to eligible individuals with disabilities, with emphasis on individuals with  significant disabilities. These programs are delivered through American Job Centers. improve employment opportunities for veterans with disabilities.  According to the memorandum of understanding, veterans represent a  major recruiting opportunity for water utilities. According to the EPA and  VA memorandum of understanding, prior military experience gives  veterans an understanding of teamwork, discipline, and personal  accountability that can make them excellent employees in these fields. In  addition, many veterans already have technical skills and training that are  directly transferrable to careers in the drinking water and wastewater  industry. EPA also worked with VA to create Military Occupational  Specialty equivalent job descriptions for water-related military jobs to  show how they equate to civilian water utility jobs. Under the  memorandum with EPA, VA receives referrals of open positions from the  water and wastewater industry and disseminates the information to  disabled veterans who are looking for jobs. According to a VA official,  over the past 5 years, the VA estimated sharing nearly 5,500 water utility  job leads with its 56 regional offices and the National Capital Region  Benefits Office. VA tracks the number of disabled veterans who have  been rehabilitated to employment, but it does not track the number of  disabled veterans who take jobs at water utilities.

Selected Water Utilities Accessed Some Federal Programs to Help Meet Workforce Needs

Strategies under the Workforce Innovation  and Opportunity Act  In implementing the Workforce Innovation and  Opportunity Act, states are required to  incorporate specified strategies in their state  plans, including the following:  Career pathways strategies help job  seekers obtain education and job experience  leading to a career. Career pathways  strategies align and integrate education, job  training, counseling, and support services to  help individuals obtain postsecondary  education credentials and employment in in- demand occupations.   Sector partnership strategies engage  related groups of stakeholders (including  employers) in the workforce system. Such  strategies organize multiple employers and  key stakeholders, such as education and  training programs, in a particular industry into  a working group that focuses on the shared  goals and human resources needs of that  industry. working with DOL to identify standard workforce competencies and working with workforce investment boards in each state to integrate  and fund training initiatives for the water utility industry; and working with Education to develop training requirements for the water  utility industry.

Representatives of the American Water Works Association told us that  they had not provided tools or outreach to utilities to help them act on  some of these recommendations, such as working with local workforce  investment boards. In our interviews with selected utilities, we heard that  there is variation in whether the utilities have accessed federal programs  to help meet their workforce needs.

Representatives from four of the selected small utilities we interviewed  said they use training programs offered by the National Rural Water  Association to train the water operators they hire. A representative from  one small utility stated that his utility needed the National Rural Water  Association to provide ongoing training for new operators. The  representative also stated that the National Rural Water Association’s  circuit riders helped the utility resolve problems that arose, which  precluded the need for the utility to pay for expensive private services.  Circuit riders can help small utilities resolve a range of problems,  including assisting with leak detection and responding to natural disasters  and other emergencies.

Representatives from two of the selected large utilities and two of the  selected small utilities told us that they had used the American Job  Centers to recruit potential workers. Representatives of those utilities  described differing experiences in using their local job centers, with  representatives from one large utility stating that the job center was a  good resource for them while representatives from another large utility  stated that they were not able find the type of candidates they wanted  (such as those with a STEM background). Representatives of other  selected utilities stated that they have not used the centers either  because they were not familiar with the centers’ services or they did not  believe that using the job centers would be beneficial for them.

Get Into Water!  The Colorado Department of Labor and  Employment and the Colorado Workforce  Development Council jointly awarded funding  to plan a sector partnership strategy for the  drinking water and wastewater industry. The  funding provided by Colorado was part of  federal Workforce Investment Act funds  provided to the state for sector partnership  strategies. The initiative, called “Get Into  Water!” involved four counties in the Denver  metro region. Although the drinking water and  wastewater industry was not among the top  three industries in those counties, a study of  the region’s drinking water and wastewater  utilities identified workforce challenges and  opportunities in the region. The initiative,  which was active between 2009 and 2011,  developed entry-level training courses to  introduce high school students and adults to  career opportunities in the drinking water and  wastewater industry. One of the programs that  was developed—at Emily Griffith Technical  College—remains active after the conclusion  of the initiative.

One of the selected large utilities that we interviewed was involved in a  sector partnership strategy called “Get Into Water!” funded by the  Colorado Department of Labor and Employment and the Colorado  Workforce Development Council. The funding provided by Colorado was  a part of federal Workforce Investment Act funds provided to the state for  sector partnership strategies. None of the other selected large or small  utilities reported taking part in a federally funded sector partnership  strategy.

One of the selected large utilities we interviewed used DOL’s registered  apprenticeship program as a way to recruit and hire water operators. It  also used the apprenticeship to cover plumbers. None of the other  selected large utilities had registered apprenticeship programs for water  operators. Representatives from some of the selected large utilities stated  that they did not use registered apprenticeships because of the expense  of meeting the apprenticeship rules—particularly having to pay almost the  market rate to an apprentice, who may not be fully productive for the first  few years on the job. Representatives from some of the selected small  utilities stated that they did not need an apprenticeship program because  of their small size or lack of openings.

Initiatives to Employ Veterans (VA, DOL)

The selected utilities used various methods to recruit veterans, including  working with state and local veterans offices, job fairs, and coordinating  with local military installations. Four of the selected large and small  utilities we interviewed sought to hire veterans, but none of them sought  employees through the VA’s disabled veterans program. DOL noted that  American Job Centers offer additional ways to recruit and hire veterans,  including the Jobs for Veterans State Grants program, which funds  Disabled Veteran Outreach Program specialists and Local Veterans’  Employment Representatives. Representatives from one of the large  utilities stated that although it did not have a program specifically for  recruiting veterans, it periodically sent its employees to talk to groups of  veterans about the nature of its work and how to navigate the civil service  hiring process.

Having an adequate number of trained and qualified employees,  particularly water operators, is key to the safe operation of the nation’s  water utilities. Water utilities face an upcoming wave of retiring baby  boomers, similar to other industries in the economy. Federal programs  offer many resources that, if accessed, have the capability to support and  supplement—but not replace—utilities’ individual and collective efforts to  recruit for difficult-to-fill positions. EPA has coordinated efforts with DOL  and other federal agencies that can help utilities and industry groups  identify ways for utilities to access federal programs. EPA’s inspection  guidance documents recognize the importance of utilities having an  adequate number of capable and qualified staff, and state regulators  appear to be capturing some information on utilities’ existing workforce  capacity and using this information to target technical assistance to  utilities in need. However, EPA’s inspection guidance to states does not  address future workforce issues that may affect utility operations. By  adding questions to its inspection guidance documents on strategic  workforce planning—such as the number of positions needed in the  future, skills needed in the future, and any potential gaps in water  operator positions—EPA could help ensure this information is available  for states to assess future workforce needs. Information on future  workforce needs could help states and utilities identity potential workforce  issues and take action as needed.

The Assistant Administrator for Water should direct EPA’s Office of Water  to amend its Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act inspection  guidance documents to add questions on strategic workforce planning  topics—such as the number of positions needed in the future, skills  needed in the future, and any potential gaps in water operator positions.  (Recommendation 1)

We provided a draft of this product to EPA, USDA, Education, DOL, and  VA for comment. Education, DOL, and VA provided technical comments,  which we incorporated as appropriate. In a written response, USDA  indicated that it did not have comments and generally agreed with the  report findings and content.

EPA provided written comments, reproduced in appendix III, in which it  generally agreed with our findings and provided comments regarding the  conclusions and recommendation. While EPA generally agreed with our  findings, the agency stated that the report does not highlight some factors  that differentiate water and wastewater sector workforce needs from the  workforce needs of all occupations. EPA stated that, for example, the  location of the drinking water system or wastewater treatment plant can  significantly impact the owner’s ability to recruit and retain certified  operators. We examined workforce needs in terms of projected growth  and occupational separations rates as reported by BLS. We did not  specifically assess the impact of geographic location. However, in our  discussion of responses from selected small utilities, we outline some of  the particular challenges facing small water utilities, which are typically  located in more rural areas. We describe, for example, that  representatives of small utilities often cited an inability to compete with  larger utilities on compensation for certified water operators.

With regard to our recommendation, EPA stated that it generally agrees  with the recommendation with respect to sanitary surveys of public water  systems. It further stated that EPA’s Office of Ground Water and Drinking  Water is in the process of updating the sanitary survey guidance manual  How to Conduct a Sanitary Survey of Drinking Water Systems – A  Learner’s Guide. EPA noted that they will add questions related to  workforce needs to the “Utility Management” section and anticipates  finalizing the update by the summer of 2018. For compliance monitoring  inspections under the Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge  Elimination System (NPDES) program, EPA did not agree or disagree  with the recommendation, but stated that inspectors may be limited in the  information related to workforce planning they can assess and provide  because there is no corollary to the Water System Management and  Operation element of sanitary surveys in the NPDES compliance  inspections. EPA stated that where the agency identifies studies or  documents on adequate staffing of wastewater facilities, its Office of  Enforcement and Compliance Assistance will incorporate that information  into its existing guidance documents for inspectors. While we recognize  that the sanitary surveys and NPDES compliance inspections have  different goals, as we noted in the report, inspectors currently ask plant  managers and staff questions about staffing, and we believe that there is  an opportunity to ask additional questions about future staffing needs. In  addition, we note that EPA already highlights the need for adequate staff  in its compliance inspection guidance. By amending the compliance  inspection guidance to instruct inspectors to also ask about future  workforce issues, EPA would be emphasizing the fact that ensuring a  trained workforce and continuity of operations is important for complying  with NPDES permits.

We are sending copies of this report to the appropriate congressional  committees, the Administrator of EPA, the Secretary of Agriculture, the  Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Veterans  Affairs, and other interested parties. In addition, the report is available at  no charge on the GAO website at http://www.gao.gov.

If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact  us at (202) 512-3841, gomezj@gao.gov or (202) 512-7215,  brownbarnesc@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional  Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this report.  GAO staff who made key contributions to this report are listed in appendix  IV.

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

This report examines (1) what is known about workforce needs at water  utilities compared with workforce needs nationwide and any effects of  potential unmet workforce needs on the utilities’ abilities to comply with  the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act; (2) what  approaches selected water utilities have used to manage their workforce  needs and challenges they have faced in managing those needs; and (3)  in what ways, if any, key federal programs can assist water utilities with  their workforce needs.

To examine what is known about workforce needs at water utilities  compared with workforce needs nationwide, we assessed and  summarized data on workforce replacement rates provided by the  Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and examined  projected retirement rates provided by industry studies. We focused on  projections of workforce turnover from 2016 to 2026 and estimates of  employee retirement eligibility published from 2008 to 2016, the most  recent data available to us. Because BLS estimates of workforce  replacement needs do not distinguish between workers who retire and  workers who permanently leave an occupation for other reasons, it was  not possible to isolate retirements from other separations.

We identified two relevant BLS survey programs—the Occupational  Employment Statistics program (May 2016) and the Current Population  Survey (2016)—and one BLS projection program, the Employment Projection Program (2016-2026). To assess the reliability of BLS survey  data, we reviewed relevant documentation and information from BLS staff  for the most recent data available for the two relevant BLS survey  programs. Through the Occupational Employment Statistics program,  BLS conducts a mail survey in May and November of each year to collect  data on wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments. It uses  these data to produce employment and wage estimates for about 800  occupations. BLS publishes relative standard errors to account for  sampling errors in Occupational Employment Statistics survey estimates.  All Occupational Employment Statistics estimates in this report are  presented along with their 95 percent confidence level.

The Current Population Survey is a monthly survey of households  conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for BLS. It is a sample survey of  60,000 eligible households representing the civilian noninstitutional  population ages 16 and older in the 50 states and the District of  Columbia. The basic monthly survey gathers demographic characteristics  of people in each sampled household and information to determine  whether they are employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force. The  survey collects information on workers’ occupations and ages. The  Current Population Survey estimates presented in this report are subject  to sampling error. To account for this error, we present all Current  Population Survey estimates in this report along with their 95 percent  confidence intervals. Data that would allow us to calculate true sampling  errors were not specifically provided by the Current Population Survey.  Instead, we followed Current Population Survey guidance to estimate  sampling errors. We used generalized variance functions, parameters,  and factors published by the Current Population Survey to calculate  approximate standard errors and confidence intervals. As a result, the  confidence intervals presented in this report provide a general order of  magnitude and are approximations of the true sampling errors.

To assess the reliability of BLS projections, we reviewed relevant  documentation and information from BLS staff for the most recent  projections available and reviewed the BLS employment projections in the  Occupational Outlook Handbook. The Handbook includes employment  projections developed by BLS’ Employment Projections program; BLS  develops its projections from statistical and econometric models,  combined with subjective analysis, and designs these projections to  provide a focused analysis of long-term trends based on a set of  assumptions. The models and analyses BLS uses to develop the  projections assume historical relationships and behavior will continue to  hold over the projection period; however, there is inherent uncertainty  about whether historical trends will continue into the future. BLS  employment projections rely on assumptions about demographics, fiscal  policy (including tax policies and government spending), and  macroeconomic conditions over the 10-year projection period. For  example, the BLS projections assume that the economy will be at full  employment in the last year of the period (e.g., 2026). BLS notes,  however, that fluctuations in the business cycle are not foreseeable over  a decade. Therefore, BLS employment projections should be considered  as likely outcomes, but subject to the accuracy of the underlying  assumptions. We determined that the BLS survey and projection data  were sufficiently reliable for purposes of our objective.

To determine what data and information were available on workforce  needs from industry, we reviewed reports and interviewed officials from  industry associations, including the American Water Works Association,  the Water Environment Federation, the National Rural Water Association,  the Rural Community Assistance Partnership, the National Association of  Clean Water Agencies, and the National Association of Water  Companies. We identified a number of relevant industry studies, including  three surveys published by the American Water Works Association  between 2015 and 2017: the 2016 State of the Water Industry Report,  Benchmarking Performance Indicators Water and Wastewater: 2015  Survey Data and Analyses Report, and Benchmarking Performance  Indicators Water and Wastewater: 2013 Survey Data and Analyses  Report. To assess the reliability of the industry studies, we reviewed their  scope and methodology. We determined that although the industry  estimates were not generalizable, the studies were sufficiently reliable for  illustrating industry perspectives on workforce planning.

To review the effects of potential unmet workforce needs on water  utilities’ abilities to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean  Water Act, we selected a sample of 11 water utilities—6 large and 5  small—based on geography, size, and indications of hiring challenges in  the past. We included both large and small utilities in our selection based  on our initial interviews with industry representatives that suggested that  large utilities and small utilities experienced different challenges.

To select the large utilities, we compiled a list of cities that were  mentioned in interviews and other communications with industry groups,  and in EPA documents, as experiencing difficulty replacing retiring  workers or having put in place programs to train and recruit new workers.  We then divided the list of cities geographically among the four Census  regions—West, Midwest, Northeast, and South—and tallied the number  of times each city was mentioned. In the West and South regions, we  selected the city with the greatest number of mentions. In the Midwest  and Northeast regions, each of the cities had only one mention, so we  selected the largest city within each region. For each of these four cities  we then identified the drinking water and wastewater utilities for the city.  One of the cities had separate drinking water and wastewater utilities,  while the other three cities had one utility that provided both drinking  water and wastewater services. We also included the water utility for a  fifth city because early in our research we conducted a site visit to that  city and conducted an interview with the local water utility.

To select the small utilities, we reached out to the National Rural Water  Association and the Rural Community Assistance Partnership for  suggestions on utilities to interview. The National Rural Water Association  provided us with a list of 10 small water and wastewater utilities from 6  states. We divided the list of cities among the four Census regions. In the  West region, one utility was recommended. For the Midwest, Northeast,  and South regions, we selected utilities from cities with populations less  than 10,000. In the South region, we selected a second city in order to  bring the total number of small utilities up to five. One of the small utilities  that we contacted was not able to participate in an interview with us but  instead referred us to a nearby utility. That utility served a population less  than 30,000, which for the purposes of this report we included in the  category of small water utilities. Table 2 shows the locations and sizes of  the 11 utilities we interviewed.

We asked officials of the selected utilities whether workforce challenges  had affected their abilities to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act and  the Clean Water Act at their utilities or whether they anticipated such  effects in the future. The information from those interviews is not  generalizable to the national population of water utilities; it was intended  to provide illustrative examples of any difficulties water utilities were  experiencing in complying with the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean  Water Act that they attributed to workforce challenges. We also obtained  EPA data on compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean  Water Act for the selected utilities. We have previously reviewed the  quality of EPA compliance data for the Safe Drinking Water Act.  Specifically, we have interviewed EPA officials and reviewed EPA data  reliability assessments, a 2017 OIG report on the reliability of data in  EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), data verification  reports, and our past reports on the reliability of the data in SDWIS.  According to these recent EPA assessments, the EPA OIG report, and  our January 2006 and June 2011 reports, some of the data in SDWIS  are not complete. We also interviewed an EPA official and reviewed  documentation on compliance data for the Clean Water Act. We  determined that although the data are incomplete, they were useful to  provide a rough indication of whether selected water utilities had any Safe  Drinking Water Act or Clean Water Act compliance violations over the  past 10 years (between 2007 and 2016).

To describe the approaches that selected water utilities have used to  manage their workforce needs and the challenges they have faced in  managing those needs over the past 5 years (from 2012 through 2016),  we spoke with utility officials, during the interviews described above, to  learn about their hiring and retirement numbers, challenges in managing  workforce needs, and approaches for hiring staff. The information from  those interviews is not generalizable to the national population of water  utilities; it was intended to provide illustrative examples of any difficulties  water utilities were experiencing in complying with the Safe Drinking  Water Act and the Clean Water Act that they attributed to workforce  challenges.

To describe how key federal programs can assist water utilities with their  workforce needs, we conducted background research and initial  interviews with federal officials. We identified five federal agencies that  conduct activities or provide funding related to the water utility workforce:  EPA, USDA, Education, DOL, and VA. We interviewed officials with these  agencies about current or past federal programs and policies related to  water utilities’ workforce needs. We did not attempt to identify all  programs that can provide assistance to water utilities for workforce  planning or recruitment, but we determined based on interviews at the  five federal agencies that we had identified the programs for which these  activities were a primary purpose or likely use. Additionally, we  interviewed representatives from the selected utilities we contacted to  determine whether and how they had used various federal programs or  assistance to augment other planning and recruitment strategies and  what problems, if any, they had in using the programs. The information  from those interviews is not generalizable to the national population of  water utilities but provides illustrative examples of how, if at all, water  utilities are using federal programs to help with workforce planning and  recruitment.

We conducted this performance audit from September 2016 to January  2018, in accordance with generally accepted government auditing  standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to  obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for  our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe  that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings  and conclusions based on our audit objectives.

Appendix II: List of Federally Registered Apprenticeships at Drinking Water and Wastewater Utilities

Table 3 provides a list of apprenticeships in the water industry that are  registered with the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Apprenticeship.  As of September 7, 2017, DOL reported that 24 utilities across the  country were training new employees through registered apprenticeships  that combined structured learning with on-the-job training with an  assigned mentor.

Appendix III: Comments from the Environmental Protection Agency

Appendix IV: GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments

In addition to the contacts named above, Susan Iott (Assistant Director),  Betty Ward-Zukerman (Assistant Director), Darnita Akers, Mark Braza,  Caitlin Cusati, Alex Galuten, Tom Gilbert, Gina Hoover, Rich Johnson,  Cynthia Norris, Rhiannon Patterson, Sarah Sullivan, and Paul Wright  made key contributions to this report.

Water utilities need qualified employees to safely maintain the nation's drinking water and wastewater facilities, and some utilities are having difficulty hiring certified operators—key to running the plants—as well as other skilled workers. Utilities also face an upcoming wave of retiring baby boomers. Federal agencies offer utilities help addressing hiring needs.

EPA provides guidance for state regulators and plant managers to use in evaluating utility operations. It obtains information on the current workforce, but we recommended that EPA add strategic workforce planning questions to its evaluations that would help identify future needs.