Affordability and Customer Assistance Program Development

Addressing Affordability at the Local Level 

One Water Econ’s team members have conducted affordability assessments for utilities and municipalities throughout the country - most recently for the Northeast Ohio Reginal Sewer District, New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board, and New York City Department of Environmental Protection. We work with utilities to understand affordability challenges and develop targeted customer assistance programs.

Affordability Assessment and Customer Assistance Program Evaluation for Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District

Working with leading rate consultants from Stantec, One Water Econ’s economists conducted a comprehensive affordability assessment for the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District. This work included an evaluation of water use and socioeconomic characteristics across household types and various geographic scales, as well as the application of a range of affordability metrics to better understand affordability challenges. The team worked closely with the District to examine participation in its existing CAPs and to make recommendations for further optimizing its programs to reach more households in need.

Influencing National Level Policy

In addition to local level analyses, our economists have conducted several state and national level affordability studies that have directly influenced affordability policy. Examples include:

  • One Water Econ’s lead economist Janet Clements served as a key author on the Affordability Assessment Tool for Federal Water Mandates, in partnership with the American Water Works Association (AWWA), the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the Water Environment Federation (WEF).

  • Ms. Clements worked as part of a team to help AWWA, WEF, and the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) to make recommendations to the EPA on alternative affordability metrics that would help the agency and communities better assess the affordability impacts of federal-water related mandates.

  • For the Water Research Foundation, Ms. Clements served as a Principal Investigator to develop comprehensive guidance on customer assistance programs for “hard-to-reach” customers, including multi-family households and renters who do not receive a water or wastewater bill directly from a utility.

  • In partnership with the University of North Carolina Environmental Finance Center, Ms. Clements served as a key author on Navigating Legal Pathways to Rate Funded Customer Assistance Programs.

  • For the Southern California Water Coalition, Ms. Clements worked with her colleagues at Corona Environmental Consulting to develop a framework for evaluating the economic feasibility of a maximum contaminant level for Chromium VI.