Public Utility Finance

Philadelphia’s water rate board chair and former Pennsylvania consumer advocate to discuss rate setting, affordability challenges Irwin A. “Sonny” Popowsky, chair of the City of Philadelphia’s Water, Sewer & Storm Water Rate Board, will kick off the fifth annual Water Finance Conference as the keynoteRead More

By Michael Curley Water quality is a major problem throughout the United States. But it’s not nearly as bad as it used to be. In 1969, the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland was so polluted that it actually caught fire! That made headlines all across theRead More

U.S. House Representatives Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) and Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) — co-chairs of the bipartisan House Municipal Finance Caucus — introduced The Investing in Our Communities Act (H.R. 2772) in May, which would amend the federal tax code to reinstate the option for a single advance refundingRead More

The House Appropriations Committee passed its Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) Interior & Environment Appropriations bill in May, which funds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and included a significant increase for key EPA programs. This occurred on the same day President Trump broke off discussionsRead More

Last week, congressional leaders agreed on a $19.1 billion emergency supplemental spending bill that would aid communities affected by recent wildfires, floods, earthquakes, and hurricanes. The measure is expected to pass once lawmakers return from this week’s Memorial Day recess. The bill includes an additional $296 million inRead More

The first-ever analysis of needs of the U.S. stormwater sector shows an estimated $7.5 billion annual funding gap and revealed top priorities and challenges across the country. The inaugural MS4 Needs Assessment Survey led by the Water Environment Federation’s (WEF) Stormwater Institute, reflects an effort toRead More

By Jason Isakovic Public clean water sewer and stormwater services are an aspect of everyday life that often goes unnoticed by the hundreds of millions of Americans that depend on them. These essential services provide communities throughout the country, both small and large, the ability toRead More

In March, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced the availability of funding to provide an estimated $6 billion in Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loans in 2019. “Through WIFIA, we are addressing several of President Trump’s top priorities simultaneously: modernizingRead More

By Andy McCartney Editor’s Note: This is the second article in a two-part series on cash reserves for water utilities. As mentioned in the first article on operating reserves, cash reserves are required to meet the operational, maintenance and capital needs of the utility whileRead More

The deadline to submit an abstract for the 2019 Water Finance Conference is being extended to March 22. The 2019 event will be the fifth year for the Water Finance Conference and will be held Aug. 21-22 at the Washington Court Hotel in Washington, D.C. TheRead More