The H2OPE (pronounced hope) project emerged after my time with the Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute, where I worked within the Water Equity Team (WET) Lab. H2OPE is an extension of the original research I started under WET, and supports both undergraduate and graduate students interested in studying socio-environmental problems related to water poverty, water equity, and water accessibility. Located at the intersection of equity, public health, and climate, H2OPE produces policy relevant research on how to address modern water issues in the United States.
Current Projects
Water Utility Scorecard and Affordability Dashboard: Being produced using R Shiny, the WUSA Dashboard will have data from 226 water utilities, including a scorecard function which grades water utilities on how well their existing assistance programs facilitate affordability and equity. The dashboard and our AI tools and scripts will be publicly accessible in late 2026.
Water Affordability and the Climate Gap: This research arm focuses on current issues with customer assistance programs, poverty and worsening climate change (e.g., drought and floods) affects on water utilities. Recognizing the climate gap (see Morello‑Frosch and Obasogie, 2023), this project focuses on how the disparate burden of climate change affects the health and well-being of low-income and racially marginalized groups when it comes to water affordability. Using county-level poverty data, flood and drought data, this on-going project assesses the extent to which existing assistance programs meet local poverty needs. Using current water rate projections under climate stress, we are also identifying future trends on the widening water affordability and climate gap.
Water Policy and Capital Investment Plans (CIPs): This research arm focuses on the social and environmental values embedded in water utilities CIPs to investigate the environmental moral convergence or divergence of water operators. Compared to the water utility’s mission and other programs, this analysis highlights the extent to which utilities fulfill their expressed environmental beliefs.
Keeping the Tap On: Rethinking Shutoffs through Customer Assistance and Billing Innovation: This research arm evaluates how utilities can maintain both financial sustainability and continuous water service by advancing alternatives to shutoffs for nonpayment. Through an assessment of customer assistance programs, billing and collections practices, and third-party payment tools, the study will identify which strategies most effectively prevent arrearages, promote timely payment, and reduce ‘disconnections’ across diverse customer and utility contexts. Case studies and stakeholder interviews will document barriers, lessons learned, and equity implications to guide utilities toward affordable, transparent, and health-protective approaches to revenue recovery.
Team
Lead by Research Faculty, Kayleigh Ward, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, Environmental Data Science Innovation & Inclusion Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder
– Lauren Gleason, Graduate Student, University of Colorado Boulder
– Amanda Rampy, Undergraduate Student, Northeastern University
– Sabrina Krista, Graduate Student, Boston University
– Romi Manela, Graduate Student, Oxford University
– Anika Deodhar, Undergraduate Student, Northeastern University
– Emina Hurtic, Undergraduate Student, Northeastern University
Publications and Editorials
Forthcoming, Ward, K., Gleason, L., Rampy, A., Krista, S., Manela, R., Hurtic, E., & Deodhar, A. Water assistance policies from 2016-2024: The gap between CAPs, LIHWAP, and Covid-19 moratoria in alleviating water poverty, under review.
Ward, K., Srinivasan, J., Alvord, D., Senier, L., Davis, M., Harlan, S. L., … Deodhar, A. (2024). Municipal capacity for water justice: a cross-case comparison of affordability and equity policies in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 26(4), 353–373.
Forthcoming, Ward, K., Srinivasan, J., Alvord, D., Senier, L., Davis, M., Harlan, S. L., … Deodhar, A. Unaffordable Water in US Cities: How Values and Theories of Justice Motivate Policy. Under review.
Kayleigh Ward 