by Daniel Irvin | Aug 31, 2017 | Financial Management
Most national analyses of affordability utilize a small sample of utilities or make generalized assumptions about expenditures. With more than 3,000 utilities in our pricing database, the Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill...
by Stacey Berahzer | Aug 8, 2017 | Affordability, Financial Management, Rates
“Won’t you pay my bill?” is a question that the water utility asks of the customers who do not pay their water, wastewater, and even stormwater bills. But low-income customers are, essentially, asking the same question: will you—higher-income customers—help pay the...
by Rosemary Astra-Blossom | Aug 1, 2017 | Financial Management, Utility Management
Financial management is at the core of challenges small drinking water systems face. A comprehensive understanding of the financial health of a water system can help ensure that rates are set optimally, giving small systems the ability to finance projects while...
by Daniel Irvin | Jun 19, 2017 | Affordability, Financial Management, Rates
The affordability of water and wastewater rates is an issue attracting more attention than ever. In particular, “A Burgeoning Crisis? A Nationwide Assessment of the Geography of Water Affordability in United States”—a recent paper from Michigan State University— has...
by Evan Kirk | May 24, 2017 | Financial Management, Rates
Written by: Evan Kirk Evan Kirk is a student data analyst at the Environmental Finance Center. During my first year at the Environmental Finance Center (EFC) I have worked on water and wastewater rate surveys in Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, Arizona, Hawaii, and...
by Shadi Eskaf | Mar 3, 2017 | Financial Management, Rates
What happens if a water utility collects less in revenues than it pays in expenditures in one year? It will raise some alarms, but some utilities might be able to weather that shortfall by dipping into their reserves and bounce back the following year. But what...
