Trends of steadily rising total water bills, commodity increases, and a move toward conservation‐based rate structures across 14 California counties between 2003 and 2013 may be a predictor of what's to come for the rest of the country.
Water utilities that are operated as enterprise funds must ensure that all aspects of operations, maintenance, and capital investments are addressed in a financially independent and self‐sufficient manner. Water services are capital‐intensive by nature and are expected to provide uninterrupted services that are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Because assets tend to be underground or in other hard‐to‐service areas, the repair costs associated with system failures may be very high and may vary dramatically among assets. To reflect this variability, the risks associated with system failures must be evaluated on an individual basis. These risk assessments must consider not only the cost of repairing the asset, but also the consequences of interrupted service.
Weathering the financial risks and water supply management issues precipitated by a drought‐constrained supply is possible when utility managers use the customer information they have available to select appropriate drought response policy tools.
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