For the penultimate episode of our fifth season, Glenn Barnes joins us for the first episode of a two-part series. Glenn is the director of Water Finance Assistance, a consulting agency that provides finance-focused training and technical assistance to water systems. Our discussion focused specifically on water auditing at utilities, or the process of identifying and minimizing the loss of non-revenue water — also known as water loss.
Topics Discussed
- Meet Glenn Barnes | LinkedIn | Email
- Glenn’s Water Heroes: All the folks in the water industry doing the hard work: From “boots on the ground” operators to those doing the administrative and financial work in the offices!
- What is water loss?
- What is the goal of a utility water audit?
- How does a utility’s water audit differ from someone’s home or business water audit?
- Common issues identified in water audits
- Are utilities capable of doing water audits by themselves?
- The steps to conduct a water audit
- Connect with Water Finance Assistance
“The digital divide between larger and smaller communities in water and wastewater is much larger than people understand. If you’re not working in these small communities, you don’t always understand how limited information systems can be.”
Glenn Barnes
Go Further
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About the Guest
Glenn Barnes is the director of Water Finance Assistance. He has worked for more than 15 years on improving public health by bettering water utility finance and management. Some of his areas of expertise include water/sewer rates, financial health, asset management, workforce planning, system partnerships, and water conservation. Prior to Water Finance Assistance, Glenn worked in various capacities at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Environmental Finance Center for over a decade. He has also worked as a capacity building specialist at the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP).
Glenn holds a BA in English and a Masters of Public Administration, both from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.