results from the 2017-18 north carolina water and...
TRANSCRIPT
www.efc.sog.unc.edu
Results from the 2017-18 North Carolina Water and Wastewater Utility
Management Survey
WebinarAugust 30, 3018
Carol RosenfeldEnvironmental Finance Center at the UNC School of Government
Chris NidaNorth Carolina League of Municipalities
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Dedicated to enhancing the ability ofgovernments and other organizations toprovide environmental programs and servicesin fair, effective, and financially sustainableways through:
Applied Research Teaching and Outreach
Program Design and Evaluation
How you pay for it matters
Poll
Who do we have in attendance?
OV E R V I E W O F T H E S U R V E Y
2017-18 Survey and Study Funded by the North Carolina Policy Collaboratory
ObjectiveEnhance North Carolina water and wastewater
utilities’ resiliency to changes that could impair their financial resources and ability to effectively provide
services by evaluating long-term planning at utilities and sharing best practices.
Project Partner Funder
Utilities that undertake more or earlier long-term planning efforts
benefit from more resilient finances and
improved system performance relative to other utilities.
Hypothesis
Planning EffortsFinancial plan: a plan to ensure that the performance of the utility fund meets or exceeds identified financial targets and goals.
Asset management plan: a long-range plan identifying how the existing assets will be managed, and when they will be replaced or rehabilitated.
Capital improvement plan: a plan that identifies capital projects to be completed in the next few years.
Disaster / emergency / resiliency plan: identification of risks and vulnerabilities to the utility's functions, and a course of action to mitigate the risks.
Long-range water resources plan: an assessment of water supply needs and/or wastewater demands long in the future (more than 10 years) and the ability of the utility to meet those needs.
Survey Distribution
• Electronic (Qualtrics)• Distributed to 511 drinking water and
wastewater utilities in North Carolina • Input from State and local officials• Pre-tested the survey• Offered incentives• 3+ month collection period
https://efc.sog.unc.edu/resource/results-2017-2018-north-carolina-water-and-wastewater-utility-management-survey, under “Resources”
Poll
Who has taken a look at the results report?
Response Rate by Type
Out of 511 utilities invited to participate in the survey, 227 (44%) participated.
Response rate was highest for municipal utilities.
Response Rate by Size
Utilities of all sizes participated in the survey.Response rate was higher for larger utilities, but was significant
even for small utilities.
Primary Respondents
Over one-third of primary survey respondents are the manager of their utility (n = 215).
R E S U L T S : F O C U S O N P L A N N I N G E F F O R T S
Which Colour to Look At?
Blue• Strengths• Glass half-full• Opportunities to learn
from/mentorship• Best management
practices
Orange• Challenges• Glass half-empty• Opportunities to
improve• Focused assistance
Financial Planning
Over 62 percent of utilities set specific financial targets and goals. Most have the targets and goals approved by the governing body (n = 216).
Financial Self-Assessment
The great majority of utilities monitor their finances against the budget at least monthly.
Asset Management
Eighty-seven percent of utilities have or are currently developing an inventory of their key assets (such as pipes and pumps) (n = 215).
Location is the most likely to be tracked, followed by asset age, operations and maintenance plan, and maintenance history.
Capital Planning
The majority of utilities (53%) comfortably cover more than half of their planned capital improvements and unplanned/emergency
capital improvements during the year. 51% of responding utilities have a fund designated for capital reserves (n = 195).
Capital Planning
Most (81%) responding utilities have a list of potential future capital projects (n = 208).
Most of these are published in official documents such as Capital Improvement Plans.
Disaster / Emergency / Resiliency Planning
72% of utilities have or are currently developing documentation of at least one type of system vulnerability. System vulnerabilities utilities have documented include natural disasters (62%), drought / water shortage
(48%), and man-made disasters (29%).
Long Range Water and Wastewater Resources Planning
Approximately half of all utilities engage in long-term supply or demand forecasting (n = 205). Demand and supply forecasts go out 10 to
20 years for half of all utilities.
Quantity (years) of Planning
Utilities began 3 types of plans 15 to 20 years ago, while they began the 2 other types of plans in the past 5 to 10 years.
Frequency of Planning
Utilities are most likely to update plans of all types every year.
Integration With Other Local Plans
Utilities sometimes play a role in the broader (non-utility) planning efforts of the local governments served by the utility (n = 173).
Poll
Anything that surprised you today?
Reviewing Rates
Of utilities who reported a need to raise rates, 66% approved a rate increase greater than or equal to the amount recommended in the
rates review (n = 152).
Current Revenues
Nearly half of utilities anticipate generating enough revenue for some capital needs (n = 192).
Poll
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www.efc.sog.unc.edu
Environmental Finance Center at the University of North CarolinaSchool of Government, Knapp-Sanders BuildingCB #3330Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3330USA
Q & ACarol [email protected]
Chris [email protected]
Next Webinar:Setting Financial Targets For Water
Utilities – Beyond the Budget
A brief overview of setting financial targets (e.g. minimum reserve levels, specific debt service coverage ratios, etc.) and measuring utility’s financial performance against those metrics. Speakers from North Carolina utilities with outstanding financial performance will discuss their utilities' targets, how they measure performance, and how they make decisions as a result of adopting this practice.
Date: mid- September.
Stay tuned for details at https://efc.sog.unc.edu/event/setting-financial-targets-water-utilities-beyond-budget