The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Finance Center, in collaboration with the Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, is hosting a finance forum for drinking water systems. The forum will take place July 26, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Marriott Shoals Hotel in Florence, Ala.
Water utilities generally get most of their revenue from user charges. In order to ensure proper funding of utilities, it is critical that small water systems fully understand both rate setting and long-term fiscal planning. Systems should understand how policy decisions that promote economic development or conservation can impact revenues and aim to set rates that promote utility priorities while recovering the full cost of operation.
The forum will help ensure the financial stability of water systems while providing safe, quality drinking water at fair rates. Topics include many aspects of financial management and planning of a water system fund, including rates and rate setting, controlling costs, planning for capital expenses, benchmarking financial performance and collaboration between nearby small systems.
The forum is designed for drinking water systems serving 10,000 or fewer people, especially targeting local government systems facing financial challenges. Owners of privately owned systems, consultants and technical assistance providers serving small water systems also are invited to attend, provided that there is space. This forum is being offered at no cost to participants.
Small drinking water systems in the following eight Region 4 states are invited to register: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The forum has been submitted for CEUs to the various states. Register Here.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
