Rates & Affordability

By Liz Harvell Of the more than 151,000 public water systems in the United States, 97 percent — 146,767 — are considered small water systems under the Safe Drinking Water Act, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Despite the high number of publicRead More

Last week, the third annual Water Finance Conference gathered water finance professionals from across the country for a discussion around the most critical issue facing the future of water infrastructure in the United States — funding. The two-day event, held Aug. 28-29 at the Harley-Davidson Museum® inRead More

By Erin Bonney Casey The City of Philadelphia has thrust itself into the broader national discussion on the affordability of water with its newly launched and unique water pricing model. In an era of rising water rates and constrained municipal budgets, Philadelphia is adapting toRead More

To assist low-income households in the United States with rising water and wastewater rates, seven leading water associations issued a guide that assesses the feasibility of rate-funded customer assistance programs (CAPs) in each state. Water and wastewater rates in the United States are increasing sharplyRead More

The agenda for the third annual Water Finance Conference, being held Aug. 28-29, 2017 at the Harley-Davidson Museum® in Milwaukee, Wis., will feature a variety of technical presentations covering current funding challenges facing water and wastewater utilities, punctuated by the growing need for new, integratedRead More

Raftelis Financial Consultants, Inc. (Raftelis) has announced it has hired Todd Cristiano as a manager in its Denver Metro office. Cristiano has 18 years of utility finance experience, including 12 years as a consultant to utilities and six years as the manager of rates atRead More

Residential water and wastewater bills have progressively increased by 5.7 percent annually over the past five years, outpacing average annual income growth (5 percent) and inflation (1.9 percent) and magnifying the financial challenges facing municipal water utilities. Analysis of the 50 largest metropolitan areas inRead More

Roundtable 2017 Editor’s Note — This issue marks the return of our popular Mayors Roundtable feature. Mayors are essential to a city’s water infrastructure agenda, involved in budgetary decisions and strategic planning, often in the face of financial challenges, economic uncertainty and regulatory constraints. TheyRead More

Albuquerque Uses Customer Outreach to Gain Deeper Insights into Infrastructure Needs, Conservation and Rate Increases By Frank Roth & Carol Malesky As many utilities look to implement water conservation programs in order to address drought and water shortfalls, the challenge of maintaining a utility’s fundRead More

According to a new estimate developed by the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) and the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), eliminating tax-exempt municipal bonds would increase water and wastewater infrastructure financing costs by $16 billion nationwide over a 30-year repayment period. TheRead More