Needs Assessments in Rural Communities Holly Alpert, Ph.D. November 8, 2018

Inyo-Mono Experience 32 formal needs assessments in 2011 and 2013 through Prop. 84 Planning, DAC grants 24 DACs Technical, managerial, financial elements (print sample form) Conducted by CRWA

Approaching potential NA recipients Introduce process and entity conducting assessment Discuss what information will be requested Sensitive information Phone calls and/or letters Lahontan Basins: 6 needs assessments so far

Conducting the Needs Assessment On-site meeting with system 2-4 hours Can include operators, board members, other staff Challenges: long travel distances, skeptical community members, difficulty communicating & scheduling, busy staff & board members

Formal needs assessments results Individual results Inyo-Mono Regional trends Technical: contamination issues, aging infrastructure Managerial: staff & board turnover, lack of records, lacking written operator instructions & job responsibilities, water conservation plans, emergency prevention Financial: lacking 5-year budgets, capital improvement plans, project needs

Informal needs assessments Outreach meetings, informal conversations, emergency situations, other efforts (e.g., median household income surveys or rate studies) Willingness to share information considered sensitive

Informing further work Individual system/community technical assistance Set of water conservation/drought response plans Trainings Group trainings with continuing education credits Sample topics: water sampling, capital improvement plans, 5-year budgets Developing projects & finding funding CRWA also conducted NAs in Mojave, Lahontan Basins, SAWPA, and Sac River Funding Area through DACI

Next steps Conduct first or second assessments for some DAC systems Continue more informal conversations in communities Aggregate results to the funding area Conduct assessments outside of IRWM regions