Author: Evan Kirk (Page 2 of 3)

Evan Kirk is a fellow in the 2018 Leaders in Environment and Finance (LEAF) program. As part of the LEAF Fellowship, Evan worked with Envirolink over the summer of 2018. Evan’s work with Envirolink relied on using information gathering and data communication to improve Envirolink’s managerial capacity survey. This survey assesses and scores a wide variety of utility managerial, financial, and policy performance metrics.

Capacity, as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, includes technical, managerial, and financial capabilities, also known as TMF capacity. Systems with sufficient TMF capacity can safely and consistently provide drinking water and wastewater services to their customers and are far less likely to receive notices of violation (NOVs) for non-compliance than systems with insufficient capacity. Conversely, systems that are struggling to develop or maintain capacity may be at an increased risk for operational problems such as non-compliance violations. One option for these struggling systems is to contract with companies like Envirolink for excess technical, managerial, and financial capacity.

Envirolink is a full-service utility management company that specializes in providing water, wastewater, and public works services to both public and private clients across the Carolinas. One component of Envirolink’s business model is lending excess capacity to systems in two major ways: first, through the operation and maintenance of physical assets, and second, through the provision of managerial and financial consulting services. Continue reading