On June 6-7 in Chicago, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies will host Strategic Communications: H2O (StratComm), an event geared toward engaging public utility officials on best practices in ratepayer communication, public relations and outreach.  The purpose of StratComm is to help clean water utilities innovate — or create — communications platforms thatRead More

The deadline to submit an abstract for the 2018 Water Finance Conference is Friday, February 23. The fourth annual Water Finance Conference, to be held August 28-29, 2018, in Washington, D.C., is a two-day event aimed at gathering executive-level utility professionals, including directors, general managers, superintendents, CEOs, CFOs and finance directors,Read 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

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

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

  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

The Master Planner The Managerial Maestro Behind North Carolina’s Innovative Water Financing Model By Andrew Farr   Kim Colson doesn’t ask for attention and he doesn’t want to be singled out. He’s at the center of a program that exemplifies innovation in water financing, yet he modestly maintains that for himRead More

The 2016 Water Finance Conference has announced the agenda for its second annual event being held Aug. 30-31 at the Denver Athletic Club in downtown Denver, Colorado.

By Adam Krantz & Nathan Gardner-Andrews All of us in the water sector have reacted with a combination of horror, deep concern and confusion as the drinking water crisis in Flint, Mich., played out in recent months. The worst municipal water crisis in the United States in decades has become aRead More