For water and sewer utilities regulated by a state’s public utilities commission (PUC), mounting a rate case can be an expensive proposition. In fact, for some particularly small utilities, mounting a rate case can be more expensive than operating the … Read more

How to Maintain Infrastructure Without Financially Drowning the Consumer There’s a lot we don’t agree on; however, there’s one thing we can all say is true—everyone deserves access to clean water. Drinking water and wastewater utilities have taken on the responsibility … Read more

Stormwater and the pollution it spreads is becoming a major issue, especially in cities where it is the most difficult to control runoff. The greater amount of impermeable surface in cities prevents rainwater and snowmelt from penetrating the surface. Instead, … Read more

Think back to the last time you were on a public trail: what did you see along the path? Apart from trees and the occasional informational sign, you might have noticed water pipes, manmade channels, or sewer covers nearby. Do … Read more

The dynamic between public and private systems has always been interesting, especially in the case of water and wastewater systems. Public water systems are usually non-profit entities managed by local or state governments, for which rates are set by a … Read more

The Environmental Finance Center currently produces statewide water and wastewater rates dashboards for 12 states across the US. We collect a lot of data on water system finance and management to build these dashboards, and those data can tell interesting stories about … Read more

Every year, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes data on household expenditures, income, and demographics collected through the Consumer Expenditure Survey. This nationally-representative survey reveals, among other things, how much households are spending on electricity, water and … Read more

Guest post by Amanda Sear, Research Assistant, Duke Carbon Offsets Initiative As the temperature starts rising outside, energy bills can trend skyward as well. In the summer and winter, insufficient insulation and poor weatherization can make houses leak cool and … Read more

by Caitlin Seyfried, Trey Talley, Evan Kirk, and Noel Myers  One hot summer morning, a crew of staff members from the Environmental Finance Center set out on a field trip. We hopped in a School of Government van and eagerly started … Read more

When setting rates, most water and wastewater utilities are concerned (at least to some extent) about whether their customers can afford the resulting bills. Many utilities are also wondering how they can assist the poorest segments of their customer base … Read more