The water industry is facing unprecedented capital needs, needs which will largely be recovered through increased rates. Sitting between public utilities and the public are governing boards trying to make the right decision for their community and the utility. What information do governing boards need to approve a water rate increase? What are the most effective methods of communicating the need for a rate increase?

Non-residential water customers use nearly 43% of public water supplied in the United States[1]. In fact, their portion of public water demand has increased over the past twenty years as water efficiency in the residential sector has improved. Studying customer … Read more

The Environmental Finance Center has partnered with Arcadis, Raftelis Financial Consultants, ICMA, and Stratus Consulting to get to the bottom of what meaningful communication between water utilities and their governing boards regarding rates and finances looks like. What do the … Read more

It can be hard being a water utility when nobody needs you. Or worse yet, when you have to push people away. But the news seems rife with such stories of unrequited demand for service from water utilities that invested … Read more

This morning, legislation sits on the President of the United States’ desk that will advance policies and funding for the nation’s water infrastructure. Assuming he signs it, the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) of 2014 will authorize funding … Read more

Water utilities face trying times when communicating the need to increase rates to cover the increasing costs of operating water and wastewater utilities. The issues are complex. The public is constantly bombarded with news from their phones, TVs, computers, etc., … Read more

A $napshot is a graphic revealing an interesting environmental finance finding accompanied by a short post. This $napshot was created by David Tucker, Project Director at the EFC.  We wish to offer our sincere thanks to all of our wonderful … Read more

David R. Tucker is a Project Director at the Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. My work at the UNC Environmental Finance Center frequently centers around the study, benchmarking, and understanding of rates, especially residential rates: … Read more

Mary Tiger is the Chief Operating Officer of the Environmental Finance Center at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Measurements, benchmarks, and metrics. We’re no stranger to them at the Environmental Finance Center. In fact, we’re fans. (Have you … Read more

Mary Tiger is the Chief Operating Officer of the Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina. Water is the talk of the town these days – or at least that is what a series of marketing campaigns are … Read more