Utilities have recently experienced increased capital, operation, and maintenance costs. The cause in many cases can be attributed to aging infrastructure that was built in the last century. In addition, heightened regulatory requirements associated with the implementation of the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act increased the cost of compliance while the upcoming … Read more
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) recently announced updated Clean Water Act (CWA) Financial Capability Assessment (FCA) Guidance to help communities ensure public health protections and financial feasibility as they make plans to comply with the CWA. The Guidance outlines strategies for communities to follow to support affordable rates while planning investments in water infrastructure essential … Read more
Water use is as predictable as it is unpredictable. Factors outside the control of water system managers heavily influence water use – weather conditions, user demographics, economic conditions, etc. Tools available to system managers primarily include educational efforts, incentive programs that reward customers for installation of water-saving devices, and rate structuring/pricing. Scientific research related to … Read more
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) created new Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) program allocations over the next five years for lead service line replacement and inventories. This is a great opportunity for water systems to access additional grant funding (loan forgiveness) to complete lead service line inventories (LSLI) required by the Lead and Copper … Read more
AE2S Nexus has begun mailing or hand delivering the 2022 edition of the annual Utility Rate Survey. We would like to thank the 274 participants this year. AE2S Nexus received responses from 131 systems serving populations 5,000 and greater, 97 systems serving populations less than 5,000, and 46 Regional Rural systems. Survey data was solicited … Read more
The 21st Edition of the AE2S Nexus Annual Utility Rate Survey is currently in production and will be distributed to the participants in the coming weeks. Until then, we are sharing a preliminary look at the results to help you understand how your rates compare to those of your peers. Utility managers throughout the region … Read more