How Important was Water Pricing in Achieving Conservation Goals During the California Drought?

by Liz Harvell | Jan 15, 2019 | Financial Management, Rates, Risk and Resiliency to Climate Hazards

California’s severe drought and statewide conservation mandate provided an opportunity to analyze the effects of pricing strategies as a tool to curb water use. In 2015, the State Water Resources Control Board was charged with implementing a reduction of 25 percent on...

Can Households Afford Water and Wastewater Bills When Faced with Unexpected Expenses?

by Glenn Barnes | Jun 28, 2018 | Affordability, Financial Management, Rates

At the Environmental Finance Center, we think a lot about the affordability of environmental services such as drinking water and wastewater. When developing utilities we have to consider not only the cost of the system but also the affordability not water and...

Are Your Rates Special?

by Annalee Harkins | Jun 21, 2018 | Financial Management, Rates

In the course of conducting our statewide utility rates surveys, we here at the Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill examine thousands of rate structures each year. We’ve seen it all, from the especially complex to the most...

Won’t you pay my Bill? | Pathways to Getting Some Customers to Help Pay for the Bills of Others

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...

Using Utility-Level Data to Study the Affordability of Water Rates

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...

‘Tis the Seasonal Rates: A Quick Look at Seasonal Rates Across Six States

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...