By Hope Thomson, Project Director, UNC Environmental Finance Center The UNC EFC was founded in the late 90s to support the financial sustainability of entities providing environmental services. Though the UNC EFC’s work has varied over the decades, direct technical … Read more

At the time of this writing, Congress is debating passing another economic stimulus bill to provide relief against the COVID-19 pandemic. As the pandemic created hardships throughout the country for a year, the U.S. government passed two stimulus bills in … Read more

Guest Post by Stacey Berahzer of IB Environmental Water is such a universally essential service, that many utilities seek ways to help their low-income customers with affording the service. Generally referred to as a “customer assistance program” or CAP, this … Read more

Written by: Ryan Vulpis In the state of North Carolina, many stormwater programs are required by the US EPA to maintain a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permit. This permit is designed to ensure that jurisdictions protect water quality … Read more

Guest Post By Stacey Isaac Berahzer and Christine Boyle, PhD Note: This is the second in a series of Valor Water Analytics blog posts exploring water affordability, customer nonpayment, and technology that can enable utilities to deliver water more equitably … Read more

Updates for Navigating Legal Pathways to Fund Rate-Funded Customer Assistance Programs In 2017, the Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill led a team of experts in summarizing legal barriers and opportunities to establish customer … Read more

Water systems across the country have approached drinking water affordability using different metrics and innovative solutions. While other parts of the country take on affordability at a local level, California is tackling this issue at the statewide level. In 2012, … Read more

Why Water or Wastewater Utilities in Many States May Be Apprehensive to Fund Affordability Programs with Rate Revenue One of the reports recently completed at the Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel provides an analysis … Read more

When setting rates, most water and wastewater utilities are concerned (at least to some extent) about whether their customers can afford the resulting bills. Many utilities are also wondering how they can assist the poorest segments of their customer base … Read more

Unlike your favorite TV show, college football, or even your cell phone, water is a truly vital part of life. However, many Americans may still not have affordable access to this necessity. The question of whether or not water is … Read more