Staff Shortages & Supply Chains Are Latest Water Sector Pandemic Challenges

American Water Works Association Press Release

The water sector is grappling with staff shortages and clogged supply chains triggered by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent survey conducted by the American Water Works Association (AWWA) of its utility and service provider members.

40% of the 416 utilities that responded to the survey said they currently are struggling to hire staff, especially for the positions of water operator, service technician and driver. In addition, utility respondents indicated their employee turnover rate has nearly doubled to 21%, compared to 11% earlier in 2021. Illnesses and quarantining have impacted field and water treatment operations in about 30% of surveyed utilities.

Among non-utility respondents, 55% of organizations reporting hiring issues said they are struggling to fill engineering positions, followed by service technicians (36%) and administrative positions (27%).

The AWWA survey, conducted Oct. 5 to 20, is the fifth in a series of surveys to assess the real time impact of the coronavirus pandemic on AWWA member organizations. The latest survey generated 455 responses, including 416 unique utilities and 28 from consultants, manufacturers, service providers and other non-utility members. Larger utilities, especially those serving populations over 100,000, typically reported more challenges than smaller utilities.

72% of responding utilities reported difficulty obtaining pipes or other infrastructure components. Utilities also reported supply chain issues with vehicles (48% of respondents), electronic equipment (46%) and chemicals (45%).

Concern about the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) has dropped, with 11% of utilities indicating a current supply issue compared to a high of 56% in April 2020.

At the start of the pandemic, the most common utility efforts to help financially burdened customers included suspending water shutoffs and/or late payments, with nearly 90% and 80% of utilities, respectively, enacting these policies. Of the utility respondents in the latest survey, about 63% had re-instituted shutoffs and late fees. Additionally, 34% of utility survey respondents said their customers had access to some type of Customer Assistance Program (CAP) prior to the pandemic and another 38% said they established such a program during the pandemic.

Just 10% of all survey respondents reported difficulty getting vaccination access and priority, a significant drop from 36% earlier in 2021. 59% reported that at least half of their employees are vaccinated, including 58% of utilities and 77% of non-utilities. Most organizations are tracking vaccination status.

71% of all respondents said their organizations do not have a vaccine requirement policy and are not considering one. 12% of utility respondents reported having a vaccine requirement, including 29% of very large organizations. 21% of non-utility respondents reported having a vaccine requirement.

More AWWA information is available on the COVID-19 resource page.