Description of the Biannual CT Water and Wastewater Rates Survey

Connecticut's utilities use many different water and wastewater rate structures. These different rates and rate structures have financial impacts on revenue stability, household expenditures, and water use behavior. Various rate strategies influence resource use differently and, conversely, efforts to curtail resource use (for example, conservation) have unique revenue impacts depending on a utility's rates, rate structure, and customer base. Information on how utilities in Connecticut charge for water and wastewater services is important for utilities in benchmarking their current rates and financial performance. 

The Environmental Finance Center (EFC) and Tighe & Bond, Inc. collected rate sheets from hundreds of local government and non-governmental utilities across the State of Connecticut. These rate sheets specify how utilities charge water/wastewater customers for their water use or wastewater disposal. The participating utilities account for approximately 88 percent of all local government and other ownership type utilities in the state, serving the vast majority of all customers served by public water systems. A novel customer expenditure model developed by EFC is used to calculate residential and commercial water and wastewater bills for all participating utilities for any consumption amount. The development of the model represents a breakthrough in the methodology for carrying out large sample size utility rates surveys. Customer bills are calculated across a spectrum of customer consumption rather than at one or two discrete consumption levels (e.g. the bill for 5,000 gallons/month). The results give insight to the rate setting objectives in place at a particular utility. For example, a utility might have particularly high bills at large consumption levels to encourage resource conservation or particularly low bills at small consumption levels to make the minimum level of services more affordable. Information on rates and rate structures across the state are reflected in the online, interactive rates dashboard currently under development. The rates dashboard will allow for comparisons and benchmarking of current rates and will assist officials and staff as they make decisions related to water and wastewater services during budget preparations. 

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