Water infrastructure in the U.S. faces many challenges for long-term sustainability. In Kentucky, particularly in the Appalachian region, water distribution systems, which transport water from the point of treatment to the point of consumption, are unique and complex. The various challenges include topography of the region, insufficient revenue from a declining customer base, and decreasing numbers of licensed operators – the people who work daily to make sure water safely gets to customers. Collectively, these deficiencies have led to unsustainable water infrastructure systems, both in terms of the physical infrastructure and the workforce required to operate it. This project seeks to advance the sustainability of physical water workforce pipelines while strengthening new and existing pipelines for individuals to join the water workforce. This work will identify what drives the sustainability of water distribution systems while simultaneously engaging the workforce who could use this information for decision-making. This work is timely due to unprecedented investments in U.S. infrastructure, which should be capitalized on by prioritizing sustainability to ensure long-term benefits for the physical infrastructure and the workforce needed to design, operate, and manage it. This project will develop sustainable pipelines – advancing U.S. water infrastructure sustainability by (1) integrating sustainability assessments into water distribution system planning and management an