Financial Management For Water Utilities

Substantially reorganized and updated from the 1995 Water Accounting Handbook (ISBN 978-0898677614), this comprehensive financial management tool provides utility management personnel thorough financial management tools for water utility operations. Coverage includes developing projections, budgeting, internal controls, standardized financial methods for benchmarking. This book is intended for both utility management and utility financial personnel and for a reader who has a basic understanding of financial principles. (Replaces (ISBN 978-0898677614)

Water and Wastewater Finance and Pricing: A Comprehensive Guide, Third Edition provides a framework from which utility professionals can address financial planning and pricing objectives. In this volume, the lead author and his co-authors apply experience gained over the past quarter century working with nearly 1000 utilities throughout the United States. This book can be used as a management tool and technical guide to beneficial financial planning and rate-setting practices. The third edition significantly expands its discussion into emerging areas, reflecting the numerous changes that have occurred in recent years. It begins by analyzing the financial planning challenges facing utilities and discusses the process for developing a financial plan. The next section explores delivery methods and systems, followed by an examination of cost determination and the rate-setting process. The book concludes with coverage of miscellaneous financial issues faced by utility professionals.

Comprehensive Guide to Water and Wastewater Finance and Pricing, Second Edition provides an updated and expanded examination of the principal aspects of financing and pricing for water and wastewater utilities. Organized in two sections, this new edition covers everything from privatization and setting rate structures to long-term and short-term financing. Traditional and innovative financing methods and pricing structures are provided. The guide also shows how to design appropriate pricing structures to ensure equity and self-sufficiency. What's new in the Second Edition? Comprehensive Guide to Water and Wastewater Finance and Pricing, Second Edition has been significantly revised and expanded to address current trends in the industry. The new edition features expanded discussions of state revolving loan funds (SRFs) as a financing method for local governments, the privatization concept and current incentives and disincentives associated with environmental privatization, the impact on public private partnerships of the President's executive order relating to grant funded facilities, and proposed tax legislation that could have a significant impact on environmental infrastructure financing. The new edition provides a detailed example of how a utility would establish revenue requirements and then structure a set of rates to recover these requirements. It also provides a comprehensive chapter on conservation pricing which discusses the background of conservation rates, advantages and disadvantages, and design considerations of conservation rate structures (uniform rates, inverted block rates, seasonal rates, and marginal cost rates). Results from Ernst & Young's 1992 National Water and Wastewater Survey are supplied as well. Comprehensive Guide to Water and Wastewater Finance and Pricing, Second Edition will be an indispensable reference for water and wastewater management, professional engineers, U.S. government officials, state and local government planners, investment bankers, utility entrepreneurs, directors of water and wastewater utilities, finance managers, utility and environmental attorneys, and financial and rate consultants.

Water and Wastewater Finance and Pricing: A Comprehensive Guide, Third Edition provides a framework from which utility professionals can address financial planning and pricing objectives. In this volume, the lead author and his co-authors apply experience gained over the past quarter century working with nearly 1000 utilities throughout the United

A Strategy Guide for Water Utility Managers and Executives, and a Compendium of Best Financial Practices for Utility Financial Leaders, a "How-To" Guide for Rate and Finance Technicians and a Reference Point for Policymakers Detailing utility financial plans and rate structures, and highlighting how they align with community sustainability goals and utility objectives, is the focus of the fourth edition of Water and Wastewater Finance and Pricing: The Changing Landscape. Working from a historical perspective, this revised and updated text addresses the current pricing and financial management challenges involved in the water and wastewater industry. It builds on the concepts used in the standard manuals of the American Water Works Association and the Water Environment Federation, and offers additional insight into the long-term sustainability of water systems. Provides Practical Applications of Finance and Pricing Approaches This comprehensive guide to financial and pricing practices delves into a number of factors that have impacted how utility finances its capital program and how it structures rates to recover revenue requirements. Among numerous management challenges, the book addresses such issues as reduced per capita usage and customer demand, a weak economy, social media, balancing community environmental sustainability with financial sufficiency, an increased focus on water demand management and efficiency, and the concern over rate affordability. The author factors in the rate-setting process, implementing a cost-of-service and rate model as key input in each chapter, and also presents a strong financial and rate plan for achieving long-term sustainability. What’s New in the Fourth Edition: Presents cutting-edge management approaches and initiatives, and the importance of strong financial management in addressing strategic financial and pricing goals Expands the discussion on traditional financing options, factoring in the current economic climate Explores in detail how to integrate risk considerations into the development of effective financial and rate plans. Includes techniques for projecting demand by retail, wholesale and other customer classes Provides methodologies for the development of water reuse, wholesale, and wheeling rates Contains computer models that include scenario builders, rate dashboards, and graphical presentations of key rate and financing concepts Discusses effective public education approaches to gain stakeholder support of a utility’s financial and rate plan Introduces "triple bottom line" concepts into selecting an appropriate financial and rate plan Expands the concepts of water and wastewater financial planning into the stormwater discipline Water and Wastewater Finance and Pricing: The Changing Landscape, Fourth Edition focuses on water and wastewater financial management and pricing, and is geared toward professionals assigned to develop water and wastewater financial plans and rates, senior managers with the responsibility for the long term financial sustainability of the utility, investors evaluating the financial strength of utilities, engineers/consultants planning water and wastewater facilities, academics teaching financial and pricing principles as a part of public policy curriculum, regulators needing to understand the financial viability of utilities under their purview, and policy makers desiring to support effective financial and rate plans for their constituencies.

"This project will help utilities address the challenges of revenue gaps, which are exacerbated by rising customer expectations, declining water consumption, aging infrastructure, and necessary integration of utility finance functions with asset management, environmental justice, risk management, and other initiatives. The products of this project lay the groundwork for a shift in thinking by utilities to modernize financial and management practices by strengthening linkages among systems, processes, and decision-making practices. In addition to the research report, the project produced two spreadsheet tools: a Revenue Risk Assessment Tool and Customer Assistance Program Cost Estimation Tool. Both tools and accompanying tutorial videos are available on this project page under Project Resources/Web Tools." -- Publisher's web site.

The only book that covers this specific financial topic, this guide is written for water utility managers and serves as an important reference for consultants, water commissions, public administrators, and accountants changing fields who need to understand the precise financial components of effective management maintenance. Covers budgeting, repairs, prevention, and more.