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Introducing the new Massachusetts Water and Wastewater Rates Dashboard!

The Environmental Finance Center is pleased to announce the launch of the new Massachusetts Water & Wastewater Rates Dashboard. This interactive Rates Dashboard is designed to assist utility managers, finance directors, Board members, state and local officials, reporters, and customers in comparing their residential water and wastewater rates against multiple characteristics, including utility finances, system characteristics, customer base demographics, and geography. Rates data for this dashboard are drawn from the December 2014 residential drinking water and wastewater rates survey conducted by the engineering firm Tighe & Bond.

This Rates Dashboard was constructed as part of the Smart Management for Small Water Systems nationwide project of the Environmental Finance Center Network (EFCN). The EFCN is composed of numerous Environmental Finance Centers around the country, including the Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, which created this dashboard. This dashboard was created under a cooperative agreement with the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Additional resources for water and wastewater utilities are provided below.

New look and new functions!

For everyone who is familiar with previous Rates Dashboards, you will notice that we have given the Massachusetts Dashboard a new look and added many new features and functions:

• An easier way to select your utility from the dropdown menu: now you can type in your utility's name.
• Ability to click on and select any utility on the map.
• Tablet friendly format allows you to view the dashboard on your tablet device (e.g. iPad).
• Ability to edit your utility's data. These edits and additions will be saved on your computer until you delete your cookies.
• Ability to add a new utility/rate structure to the dashboard. These edits and additions will be saved on your computer until you delete your cookies.
• Ability to observe the effects of raising rates by up to 100%.
• Much faster load and response times as you interact with the dashboard.
• Numerous other function and aesthetic changes to improve the use and feel of the dashboard.

The Massachusetts Dashboard offers the following features:

Residential water and wastewater rates as of December 2014, for utilities across Massachusetts, can be compared with:

• All other utilities in the State,
• Utilities of the same size,
• Utilities in the same watershed,
• Utilities with the same water source,
• Utilities located in the same congressional district,
• Utilities of the same ownership type,
• Utilities that serve communities with similar household income levels,
• Utilities located in the same water planning region, and
• Utilities within 25 or 50 miles.

You can compare residential water and/or wastewater bills at 500 gallons/month, ranging from 0 to 15,000 gallons per month.

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 (the incremental price when increasing from 10,000 to 11,000 gallons per month),
• Operating ratio (operating revenues divided by operating expenses including depreciation), and
• Monthly bill as % Median Household Income for the service community.