What is the Arizona Water & Wastewater Rates Dashboard?

This interactive rates and financial benchmarking dashboard is designed to assist utility managers, finance directors, Board members, local officials, reporters, and customers in comparing their utility's residential water and wastewater rates against multiple characteristics, including utility finances, system size, customer base demographics, and geography. Rates data for this dashboard are drawn from the 2017 Drinking Water and Wastewater Residential Rate Survey conducted by the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona, who underwrote the project, and the Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

This year, the rates dashboard includes a brand new Financial Benchmarks Tab which displays four dials corresponding to key financial performance indicators for the chosen utility's water and/or wastewater enterprise fund(s). Other new features include new comparison groups (Same Ownership Type; Same Congressional District). 

Comparison Groups

2017 residential rates for utilities across Arizona can be compared with:

• All other utilities in the State,
• Utilities of the same size,
• Utilities with similar operating revenues,
• Utilities in the same watershed,
• Utilities with the same water source type,
• Utilities in the same congressional district,
• Utilities in the same regional council of government area,
• Utilities with the same ownership type,
• Utilities with the same rate structure,
• Utilities that serve communities with similar income levels, and
• Utilities within 25, 50, or 100 miles.

You can compare rates for 0 to 15,000 gallons/month at 500 gallon intervals.

You can also raise rates by up to 100% and observe the (hypothetical) effects on the utility's rates, revenues and rate affordability.

Key Financial Indicators

The following measures for the selected utility are compared to key indicators or to the utilities within the selected comparison group:

• Monthly water/wastewater bills,
• Conservation pricing signal,
• Operating ratio (including depreciation), and
• Monthly bill as % Median Household Income for the service community.

On the Financial Benchmarks tab, 4 key financial performance indicators are displayed for your utility, calculated from data reported on your utility's audited financial statements. The indicators include:

• Operating ratio with depreciation
• Operating ratio without depreciation
• Debt service coverage ratio
• Days cash on hand

Track how your bills compare to others at the low, average and high end of residential consumption.