Category: Smart Management for Small Water Systems (Page 6 of 10)

Key Financial Indicators for Water and Wastewater Systems: Operating Ratio

February 27, 2015 / Glenn Barnes

In previous posts, we have discussed where to find data to help water and wastewater systems make smart financial and managerial decisions. Another vital data source for any water and wastewater system is its own financial statements, from which systems can calculate key financial indicators.

Key financial indicators are a way for a system to get a snapshot of its financial health and to determine whether it needs to make adjustments to its rates, and they should be calculated annually when financial statements are released. One important financial indicator is operating ratio, which measures the ratio of annual operating revenues to annual operating expenses. To be a true enterprise fund that is self-supporting, a system should strive to have at least as much operating revenue as it has operating expenses, if not more. Otherwise, the system would be operating at a loss.

Four Myths about Water Rate Setting

February 12, 2015 / Jeffrey Hughes

Infrastructure has been in the news a lot lately. The president highlighted it in his budget speech/State of the Union address, and if you live in North Carolina, you heard the Governor highlight it in his State of the State speech a few weeks later. Both leaders identified infrastructure in general (including water and wastewater) as key problems that required new national and state initiatives. Initiates such as new types of bonds and augmented public funding programs will help, but none of these will replace the most important and somewhat magical water and wastewater finance tool – namely, locally determined customer water and sewer rates. Water rates are the tool that customers dread and elected officials rarely embrace, but rates ultimately drive the ability of communities to protect their environment and public health.

Small Water Systems with Financial Difficulties are More Likely to Violate EPA Regulations

January 28, 2015 / Shadi Eskaf

One hazard that water utilities with financial difficulties face is an increased risk of falling out of compliance of federal requirements and drinking water regulations. Violating regulations often triggers enforcement actions (and sometimes fines) by the state primacy agency, adding to the time and expense of running the water system. This can be extra troublesome if those utilities are already financially constrained. We analyzed national and regional data and found that unfortunately, there is statistical evidence that correlates small water systems’ financial difficulties and some types of violations.

Where to Find Data for Smart Managerial and Financial Decisions

December 18, 2014 / Glenn Barnes

Ever need to know how many single-family wood-framed houses were sold in the Midwest last year? Or the latitude and longitude of every farmers market in Wisconsin that sells herbs, flowers, and soap? What about the number of planes that sat on the tarmac more than three hours this past June? Or the annual sales volume of book stores in the United States for the past 20 years?

These might sound like crazy questions, but all of the above information is available through the federal government’s data portal www.data.gov. Data.gov houses more than 130,000 data sets that are freely available for download (and, no, that’s not a typo—more than one hundred thirty thousand data sets). These data can be invaluable resources for making smart managerial and financial decisions for our water and wastewater systems. Continue reading

What Does Santa Claus Charge for Water and Wastewater Service?

December 10, 2014 / Stacey Berahzer

The call came in on a December morning several years ago. When I saw that the caller ID said “Santa Claus” I decided not to answer the phone. My thought was “seriously, what will these telemarketers think of next?!?”

Later that morning, I noticed that the caller had left a voicemail. To my surprise, there was a message about water rates from the Mayor of Santa Claus, Georgia!

Category: Smart Management for Small Water Systems (Page 6 of 10)

Key Financial Indicators for Water and Wastewater Systems: Operating Ratio

Four Myths about Water Rate Setting

Small Water Systems with Financial Difficulties are More Likely to Violate EPA Regulations

Where to Find Data for Smart Managerial and Financial Decisions

What Does Santa Claus Charge for Water and Wastewater Service?

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