What’s in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; – From Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, 1600 This often-quoted phrase by Shakespeare’s Juliet seeks to nullify the fact that Romeo has the surname … Read more
In honor of the UN’s World Water Day, a group of us from the Environmental Finance Center attended last month a performance of the play, “An Enemy of the People,” at Playmakers Theater here on UNC’s beautiful campus. It was well done and featured timeless, dramatic themes such as the struggle of one man’s battle to awaken the conscience of the community, the role of a whistleblower, the struggle to protect one’s family, and more. But the play also revolves around environmental finance and governance themes, which got me to wondering: How might this story (essentially set in nineteenth century Norway) fare differently in our own time and place? What different options for protection of public health and promotion of sustainable finance would governments, utilities, and the people have today, especially in regard to safe, clean water?
Click the button or the image below to download Capital Planning and Budgeting for Small Water Systems: Winston Salem
Earlier, I posted a graph of my household water use for the past few years and challenged our readers to identify as many interesting characteristics about my household as they can. Often, the only data a water utility has on their customers are what they have in their billing records. Other household characteristics, such as size of household, income, age, house and lot size and features, water use behavior and preferences, etc., are very difficult to obtain for each customer. However, as demonstrated by my own personal example, mining the billing data alone can reveal much about each household. Here is what my water use history reveals about my household, and the application of this exercise in water resources and utility finance management.
Are you up for a challenge? I have disclosed in the graph below my own household’s water use between June 2006 and December 2014, as reported on my water bills. Without any more information about my household’s characteristics (except that it is residential, on a single 5/8″ meter, and using drinking water and wastewater service from one utility), this is the extent of knowledge that my utility has about my household. Yet, my water use data – which are present in the utility’s billing records – reveal much about my household. My challenge to you is to look at this graph and identify as many interesting characteristics about my household as you can. Think about it, too, from the perspective of how the utility should interact with my household. I will reveal answers later this week (stay tuned!).
Our first post this week presented overall findings from a survey conducted on communication between staff and elected officials regarding water utility finances. As many would assume, a solid working relationship between the two parties is important to full-cost recovery. But, when hearing a rate case, what information matters most to elected officials?
The survey asked elected officials what kind of information is the most important in helping them make the best decision about a rate increase for the water utility. It also asked administrators what they believed to be the most important information to share with elected officials. This allowed a comparison to be made between elected officials’ and administrators’ responses.
The water industry is facing unprecedented capital needs, needs which will largely be recovered through increased rates. Sitting between public utilities and the public are governing boards trying to make the right decision for their community and the utility. What information do governing boards need to approve a water rate increase? What are the most effective methods of communicating the need for a rate increase?
* This blog was originally posted on the UNC EFC’s previous website on February 27th, 2015, and has been re-posted on our current website for our audience’s viewing. By Glenn Barnes In previous posts, we have discussed where to … Read more
Infrastructure has been in the news a lot lately. The president highlighted it in his budget speech/State of the Union address, and if you live in North Carolina, you heard the Governor highlight it in his State of the State speech … Read more
One hazard that water utilities with financial difficulties face is an increased risk of falling out of compliance of federal requirements and drinking water regulations. Violating regulations often triggers enforcement actions (and sometimes fines) by the state primacy agency, adding to the time … Read more
