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Current Blog Posts
Four Ways Water Utilities Can Weather a Hurricane
Millions of United States citizens continue to battle the effects of massive hurricanes this month. Many have lost electric and water service. As water and wastewater utilities struggle to get their systems up and running…
The Gray Area in Funding Affordability Programs
Why Water or Wastewater Utilities in Many States May Be Apprehensive to Fund Affordability Programs with Rate Revenue One of the reports recently completed at the Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina…
Is Percent MHI the Best Way to Measure Affordability?
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…
Tips and Takeaways: Applying for NC Water and Wastewater Funding Programs
Attention all North Carolinian water and wastewater systems: the State Water Infrastructure Authority announced that $168.5 million in water and wastewater funding will be available this upcoming fall. In response to this announcement, the North…
Throwing Shade: The Great American Eclipse vs. Solar Power
On Monday, Aug. 21, a total eclipse will slice across the United States for the first time since 1918. It will take just 93 minutes for the eclipse to move across the entire country, and…
How an Arkansas Electric Co-Op Tripled Efficiency Program Participation
It’s a scene played out across the country: a rural electricity service area where many residents are low-income, homes are far apart, a number of customers rent, and many live in homes over 40 years…
Won’t you pay my Bill? | Pathways to Getting Some Customers to Help Pay the Bills of Others
“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…
Solutions for Problems Facing Small Drinking Water Systems
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…