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® in Milwaukee, presented a candid lookRead 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 to shifting market conditions. The goalRead 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 sharply as utilities address aging waterRead 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, integrated approaches against the backdrop ofRead 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 at Denver Water. His experience coversRead 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 in the U.S. show combined monthlyRead 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. They are held accountable when problemsRead 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 fund balances becomes more prevalent. AsRead 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. The latest figures represent an updateRead More

  Customer Assistance Programs Integrated Into Business Processes Can Help Struggling Ratepayers Stay Afloat By Neil Grigg Rate increases by water utilities are needed to sustain high quality services, but their impacts on low-income customers are a major cause of concern. In some communities, these concerns can fly under theRead More