Each year, AE2S Nexus conducts a survey of water, wastewater, and stormwater charges for communities in Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. The annual survey will celebrate its 15th anniversary this year. As AE2S grows into regions outside of our original upper Midwest stomping grounds, we hope to offer the rate survey as a resource to systems in our new service territories.
Toward that goal, AE2S Nexus recently completed a Supplement to the 2015 Rate Survey for systems in the State of Utah as an introduction to the survey and a resource to assist Utah utilities with 2016 budget planning. The chart below shows the results as reported by Utah survey participants, depicting the total monthly residential utility bill for 6,000 gallons of water metered, corresponding wastewater rates, and the monthly charge for stormwater. Most of the Utah water systems reported groundwater or a mix of ground and surface water as the source. In addition to domestic water use, some systems also offer pressurized irrigation water for outdoor water use, but pressurized irrigation charges are not included in the graphic below. The majority of the respondents reported the operation of mechanical wastewater treatment. In addition, sewer districts appear to be prevalent, with some cities reporting multiple wastewater service providers for areas within the municipality.
The table below summarizes the average and median reported charges for water, wastewater, stormwater, and the combined utility bill for 2015 survey respondents serving more than 5,000 people. In terms of average and median charges for 6,000 gallons, it appears that the reported charges for monthly residential water service in Utah is comparable to slightly less than charges reported by utilities in other states that participated in the 2015 AE2S Nexus rate survey. The wastewater charges reported by Utah systems also appear to also be similar to those in other states that participated in the 2015 rate survey. It is interesting to note that on a percentage basis, approximately 87 percent of respondents from Utah reported a stormwater charge, as opposed to a range of 21 to 55 percent in the other states that participated in 2015. 
AE2S Nexus looks forward to including Utah systems in the 2016 rate survey, which is scheduled to come out in the first half of the year. If you have questions, contact Miranda Kleven, AE2S Nexus Financial Analyst, at [email protected].