Guest Author Rocky Craley is a Senior Consultant at Raftelis Financial Consultants. Breaking News:  Utility rates have continued to increase over the last two years, according to the 2012 Water and Wastewater Rate Survey.  That’s the highest-level survey summary, which … Read more

Stacey Isaac Berahzer is a Senior Project Director for the Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina, and works from a satellite office in Georgia. We recently facilitated the first “Peer2Peer Exchange” where utility officials from ten of … Read more

Mary Tiger is the Chief Operating Officer of the Environmental Finance Center. Christine Boyle was a Post-Doctorate Fellow of the Environmental Finance Center. Thanks also to the direction and analysis provided by Jeff Hughes and Dayne Batten. Rising costs, declining … Read more

Guest author Peiffer Brandt is the Chief Operating Officer at Raftelis Financial Consultants. An 82% rate increase.  That’s what the Milford (MA) Water Company has proposed to cover the costs of a new $25 million treatment facility. Rates in Milford … Read more

Stacey Isaac Berahzer is a Senior Project Director for the Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina, and works from a satellite office in Georgia. In teaching environmental finance we develop many charts and graphics to help illustrate … Read more

Jeff Hughes is the Director of the Environmental Finance Center. I’ve come to the opinion that rate structures, particularly those that are designed to promote conservation and water efficiency, may be getting a bad rap or at least getting more … Read more

Update: This blog post and the graph were updated on February 10, 2021 to reflect more recent price index estimates and trends. Sitting at your desk very late in the afternoon, your coffee going cold, staring at a spreadsheet, crunching … Read more

Christine E. Boyle, PhD is a Post-doctoral Fellow at the Environmental Finance Center. Dr. Boyle investigates new models for sustainable local water and energy provision. Despite mounting evidence that rainwater harvesting systems present a cost-effective option for water and stormwater utilities to … Read more

Mary Tiger is the Chief Operating Officer for the Environmental Finance Center at UNC. Over the past four years, the Environmental Finance Center (EFC) conducted in-depth analysis of residential customers of some of North Carolina’s largest water utilities, represented by … Read more

Guest author Catherine Noyes is an Associate Consultant at Raftelis Financial Consultants.

Since October, 2010, the Houston-Galveston area has suffered from one of the worst droughts on record. According to the Area Council’s Clean Rivers Program, by the end of 2011, the City of Houston had repaired 17,756 water line breaks, up from 10,821 in 2010. Given that July, 2012 was the hottest month in 117 years of records, it’s not surprising that water service utilities around the country are struggling to keep up with the drought damage impacting buried infrastructure. This damage includes anything from soil shifting as it dries out, to tree roots working their way into pipes in search of moisture.

Depending on where these breaks occur, homeowners may be responsible for shouldering the financial burden of repair or replacement – often at a cost of thousands of dollars. Many homeowners may not know that they are responsible for both the water line that runs from their home to the city’s water meter, and for the sewer line that runs from their home to the city’s sewer main. Through line protection programs, homeowners have a chance to mitigate the significant financial cost that can accompany standard emergency line replacement or repair, which homeowner’s insurance may not cover.