During the 2014 North Carolina Water and Wastewater Finance course, the Town of Cary and Sensus Inc. presented to the class on a panel entitled “Smart Technology and Water Finance.” During the panel, Karen Mills, Cary’s Finance Director, and Leila … Read more

Restoration and protection of wetlands is one of the four core elements of a wetland program, as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  Some restoration and protection takes place through wetland regulatory activities, such as during the 401 certification … Read more

Water utilities face trying times when communicating the need to increase rates to cover the increasing costs of operating water and wastewater utilities. The issues are complex. The public is constantly bombarded with news from their phones, TVs, computers, etc., … Read more

Growing up in a country where school uniforms were mandatory, I viewed uniforms as, well …, “boring!” At least that was the way I felt in high school. One of the most engaging classes I can recall was when the … Read more

Water conservation is critical to meeting the future water needs of Texas.  Many programs may be implemented to reduce water use, and a number of utilities across the State are making strong efforts to advance water conservation. One of the most … Read more

Beginning around this time every year, I start to come across annual reports summarizing governmental, non-profit, and other organizations’ progress in different environmental and financial pursuits. Some annual reports are all about finance, some are more about the environment, and … Read more

David Tucker is a Project Director at the Environmental Finance Center at UNC Chapel Hill. How affordable are electric rates for “average” or “typical” residential customers in North Carolina? That is a complicated question to answer, and this article represents … Read more

Last Thursday, while we were presenting one of two Water Research Foundation webinars (view recordings of the webcasts for free) on the financial strategies that water utilities have or can employ to improve revenue resiliency against changing financial trends, a … Read more

Mary Tiger is the Chief Operating Officer of the Environmental Finance Center at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The water industry, just like any other, suffers from a variety of financial constraints and challenges. Over the last decade … Read more

Jen Weiss is Senior Finance Analyst at the Environmental Finance Center. Sustainability on college campuses is on the rise.  More than 675 colleges nationwide have become signatories of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, a network of college … Read more