Logistics At the top right corner of your screen: Show your control - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Logistics At the top right corner of your screen: Show your control panel to submit questions and see answers All phones/microphones are muted for the duration of the webinar. Toggle between full screen/window screen view Control Panel: Attendee List Audio: please choose between speakers and telephone. If you do not hear audio right now, please check your speaker volume or enter #[audio pin]# if using phone. Submit questions in the Questions box at any time, and press [Send]. To undock and increase the size of the box, click on top right corner icon.

Benchmarking 2013 Water and Sewer Rates and Financial Health for Small Water Systems in Georgia Stacey Isaac Berahzer Senior Project Director David Tucker Project Director Environmental Finance Center at UNC Chapel Hill http://efc.sog.unc.edu March 13, 2014 Webinar http://efc.sog.unc.edu

GEFA Infrastructure Financing GEFA Water and Sewer Infrastructure Financing Programs State Funding Federal Funding GA Reservoir Clean Water SRF Drinking Water Georgia Fund and Water SRF Federal Supply Fund State bond funds appropriations, Federal and loan State bond funds state bond funds appropriations, repayments and loan (match funds) and state bond funds repayments loan repayments (match funds) and loan repayments 3 3

GEFA Loan Program Interest Rates Annual Borrowing Program 5-Year Loan 10-Year Loan 15-Year Loan 20-Year Loan Maximum Benchmark Rate 0.82% 1.66% 2.48% 3.31% --- Georgia Fund 0.82% 1.66% 2.48% 3.31% $10,000,000 Georgia Fund – Interim Finance 0.82% 1.66% 2.48% 3.31% $3,000,000 0.57% 1.16% 1.73% 2.31% Georgia Fund – Water or Energy Conservation or $10,000,000 WaterFirst (25 bp reduction) (50 bp reduction) (75 bp reduction) (100 bp reduction) 0.50%** 0.66% Georgia Fund – Environmental Emergency N/A N/A $300,000 Water Stewardship Act of 2010 (50 bp reduction) (100 bp reduction) 0.50%** 0.66% 1.48% 2.31% Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) $25,000,000 (100 bp reduction) (100 bp reduction) (100 bp reduction) (100 bp reduction) 0.50%** 0.50%** 0.73% 1.31% CWSRF – Water or Energy Conservation $25,000,000 (125 bp reduction) (150 bp reduction) (175 bp reduction) (200 bp reduction) 0.50%** 0.50%** 0.73% 1.31% CWSRF – Land Conservation $25,000,000 (125 bp reduction) (150 bp reduction) (175 bp reduction) (200 bp reduction) 0.50%** 0.66% 1.48% 2.31% Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) $25,000,000 (100 bp reduction) (100 bp reduction) (100 bp reduction) (100 bp reduction) 0.50%** 0.50%** 0.73% 1.31% $25,000,000 DWSRF – Water or Energy Conservation (125 bp reduction) (150 bp reduction) (175 bp reduction) (200 bp reduction) Water Supply Planning Loan 0.82% 1.66% N/A N/A $3,000,000 4 4

efc.sog.unc.edu Dedicated to enhancing the ability of governments and other organizations to provide environmental programs and services in fair, effective and financially sustainable ways. How you pay for it m atters!

Smart Management for Small Water Systems under a Cooperative Agreement with the US EPA • The EFCN provides training and technical assistance to small public water systems in all fifty states and five territories to help local water systems achieve and maintain compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act. • Workshops, trainings and direct assistance: – Asset Management – Water Loss Reduction – Water System Collaboration – Fiscal Planning and Rate Setting – Energy Management – Funding Coordination, and – Managerial and Financial Leadership Sign up for direct assistance at http://efcnetwork.org/one-on-one/ •

Upcoming Webinars • 3/17/14 Water Loss Reduction – Part II • 3/31/14 Water Loss Reduction – Part III To register: efcnetwork.org/upcoming

Objectives • Become familiar with the features and benefits of the Georgia water and wastewater rates dashboard • Learn how to better compare one water systems' rates with those of other systems • Learn how to apply several useful financial benchmarks to your system(s).

Poll: Where do you work? Please select one: – Governmental water system – Non-governmental water system – State/Territorial/Federal government – Consultant / Technical Assistance Provider – Other

For water systems: How many customers do you serve? Please select one: – 10,000 or fewer people (< 3,300 accounts) – More than 10,000 people – Not a water system

Rates in Georgia 2013 Water and Wastewater Residential Rate Survey for the State of Georgia • Conducted for the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) • Response rate of 85% (452 of the 529 water/sewer utilities contacted responded) • Only publicly owned utilities were included

Number of Participating Utilities with Rates Data for 2013 Provides Institutional Water and Provides Provides Arrangement Sewer Water Only Sewer Only Total 276 90 2 368 Municipality 28 16 1 45 County/District 22 13 1 36 Authority Consolidated 2 0 0 2 Government 1 0 0 1 Other Total Number of 329 119 4 452 Utilities Number of Rate 338 123 5 466 Structures

Monthly Base Charges for Residential Customers among 460 Water and 339 Wastewater Rate Structures 200 180 160 Number of Rate Structures 140 120 100 Water Wastewater 80 60 40 20 0 $1-$5 $11-$15 $16-$20 $21-$25 $6-$10 >$25 Monthly Base Charge

Monthly Base Charges in Water and Sewer Rate Structures, by Utility Size Water Rate Structures Sewer Rate Structures Total Number Median Total Number Median Size of Utility Number of with Base Base Number of with Base Base (Service Population) Structures Charge Charge Structures Charge Charge 1 – 999 127 126 $14.00 49 49 $15.00 1,000 – 2,499 84 84 $12.50 69 69 $15.00 2,500 – 4,999 73 73 $12.00 62 62 $12.20 5,000 – 9,999 63 63 $12.05 57 56 $12.66 10,000 – 24,999 62 62 $12.00 57 56 $12.40 25,000+ 52 52 $10.00 49 47 $10.00 All Rate 461 460 $12.37 343 339 $13.00 Structures

Consumption included with Base Charge for Residential Customers among 460 Water and 339 Wastewater Rate Structures 250 Number of Rate Structures 200 150 Water Wastewater 100 50 0 Uniform Rate 0 1-1,000 1,001-2,000 2,001-3,000 3,001-4,000 >4,000 Monthly Consumption Allowance (gal/month) Increasing Block n=95 http://efc.sog.unc.edu

Types of Water Rate Structures Residential Water Rate Structures Commercial-Specific Water Rate (n = 461) Structures (n = 219) Uniform Rate 4% 4% 3% 4% Increasing Block Decreasing Block Other 43% 40% 53% 49%

Maximum Quantity in the First Block among 255 Water and 128 Sewer Residential Block Rate Structures 120 100 Number of Rate Structures 80 60 Water Wastewater 40 20 0 <=2,000 2,001-4,000 4,001-6,000 6,001-8,000 8,001-10,000 10,001-15,000 15,001-20,000 20,001-50,000 >50,000 First Block Consumption Endpoint (gal/month) http://efc.sog.unc.edu

Price for the Next 1,000 Gallons at 5,000 gallons/month for 461 Water and 343 Sewer Rate Structures 140 Number of Rate Structures 120 100 Water 80 60 Sewer 40 20 0 Up to $1/kgal $1-2/kgal $2-3/kgal $3-4/kgal $4-5/kgal $5-6/kgal $6-7/kgal $7-8/kgal $8-9/kgal $9-10/kgal Over $10/kgal

Monthly-Equivalent Residential Water Bills by Consumption (n=461) $110 $100 Monthly-Equivalent Billing $90 $80 $70 $60 $50 $40 $30 $20 $10 $0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Monthly Consumption (1,000 gal/month) Middle 80% of charges (10th-90th Percentile) Median

Monthly-Equivalent Commercial Water Bills by Consumption (n=461) $4,750 $4,500 $4,250 $4,000 $3,750 Monthly-Equivalent Billing $3,500 $3,250 $3,000 Highest 90% of Bills $2,750 $2,500 Median Bills $2,250 $2,000 $1,750 Lowest 10% of Bills $1,500 $1,250 $1,000 $750 $500 $250 $- 0 10 25 50 100 250 500 Monthly Consumption (1,000's of gallons per month)

Annual Rate and Rate Structure Adjustments

Changes in Conservation Price Signals in the Last Year: Price for Water for the Next 1,000 Gallons at 10,000 gal/month in 422 Water Rate Structures in 2013 and 461 Water Rate Structures in 2013 35% 30% Percent of Rate Structures 25% Last Year This Year 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% $0-1/kgal $1-2/kgal $2-3/kgal $3-4/kgal $4-5/kgal $5-6/kgal $6-7/kgal $7-8/kgal $8-9/kgal $9-10/kgal > $10/kgal

Rates in Georgia Check out the Georgia Rates Dashboard • On the EFC Website • Go to http://efc.sog.unc.edu and search for “Georgia Water and Wastewater Rates Dashboard”

Benchmarking Rates

Everyone needs safe drinking water!

Source of pride News Flash Our city has the lowest water rates in the whole state! We are so proud that we can offer our customers such cheap rates for water…. In other news … Pipe bursts on Main Street, flooding stores and delaying traffic for hours.

Comparing rates – the old way Source: NC Triangle J Council of Government

What’s wrong with it? • Poor sample selection (number, types of systems) • Comparing only one bill amount • Comparing nothing besides rates – pressure to keep rates low … – … regardless of financial condition of utility – ignores customers’ ability to pay – ignores price signals and utility’s policies

Solution: provide more information? 185 pages of wonderful tables, full of data you can use!