Water Utility Service Research Articles

Malaysian Water Utilities Performance Using Two-Stage DEA

Most previous studies on the performance of water utility services have adopted the standard data envelopment analysis (DEA) with slight modification. However, there are some loopholes which they have neglected the internal structure of proper measures of the operating performance of water utilities. This study uses a two-stage DEA to measure the performance of water supply services in Malaysia. The first stage uses operating cost and other factors to sustain the water production in terms of length of pipes involved and the number of clients. While in the second stage, the water production will generate revenue due to water delivered or consumed by clients. The two stages are an integrated efficiency model where optimal performance can be measured for both stages at the same time. The model will forms efficiency breakdown for both individual stages and uniquely it provides informative comprehensions compared to the traditional DEA.

Water is a Right: A Critique of Curricular Materials and Learning Experiences in Schools Sponsored by the Transnational Water Utility Service Industry

There is no longer an infinite supply of fresh water on the planet. In large part, the global water crisis is a result of large-scale, destructive, industrial innovations. In just fifteen years, two-thirds of the people on the planet will feel the impact of the diminishment of safe drinking water. Given the global water crisis, the focus is this analysis is on the transnational water utility service industry as well as the larger shift from the notion of drinking water as a public right to a commodity to be privately owned and sold on the global marketplace. I discuss the very different ways these corporations are entering communities in the Southern compared to the Northern hemisphere, including attempts to re-brand their image after public failures. I then consider the particular strategies these conglomerates use to seep into cities and towns in the North. Emphasis is placed on how this sector of the water industry is becoming involved in schooling through sponsoring curricular materials and activities. I also provide initial analysis of the messages distributed in a sample of such materials and activities intended for K-12 students. While literature exists that explores curricular materials in schools provided by transnational corporations involved in direct control of natural resources, surprisingly, the privatization of the world's fresh water supply receives little attention in both education-based scholarship and media.

Innovative rehabilitation technology demonstration and evaluation program

As water and wastewater water utility owners seek innovative rehabilitation technologies to extend the service life of their assets there is a need to provide accurate performance and cost information on innovative technologies as they come to market. To meet this need, the US Environmental Protection Agency created a field demonstration program to evaluate innovative and emerging technologies to increase the effectiveness of the operation, maintenance, and renewal of aging drinking water distribution and wastewater conveyance systems. This program has resulted in the development of a technology demonstration and evaluation process that evaluates each aspect of pre-installation, installation and post-installation activities in order to provide information that is beneficial to water and wastewater water utility owners, technology manufacturers, and consultants and service providers. To date, two technologies indentified as innovative water rehabilitation techniques have been demonstrated. It is recommended that additional innovative and novel technologies be demonstrated under a similar program in the future to determine their applicability, while providing accurate performance and cost information to water and wastewater utility owners.

Discriminate analysis and neural network approach in water utility service

The conflicting preferences amongst stakeholders and the incomplete, uncertain and contradictory understanding about water service by the Indian consumers, it is recognised that managing water resources sustain ably is a wicked problem. In India customer, satisfaction and service care are every day pushing professionals in the water industry to seek to improve their performance, lowering costs and increasing the provided service level the actual water supply available to the residents is intermittent and inequitable. Despite concerted efforts the demand-supply gap is on the rise. This imbalance is further exacerbated by the high level of non-revenue water – including both technical and commercial losses. This paper develops a systematic assessment of the sustainability of water services provided to the consumers in rural, urban and municipality area in India by neural network method and also consumer wise perception is calculated by linear discriminant method.

Promoting High Performance in SOEs: Lessons from Africa

Infrastructure for developing nations raises concerns regarding citizen access, affordability, service quality, and network expansion. Historically, state-owned enterprises have tended to provide water service services, but performance has not been strong. However, public provision of water utility services can be efficient when management follows sound principles. Developing information systems and rewarding good performance requires that a culture of excellence be nurtured and sustained. The infrastructure reform stimulated by new leadership at Uganda's National Water and Sewerage Company is used to illustrate the links among fundamental elements of organizational transformation.

Water demand under alternative price structures

We estimate the price elasticity of water demand with household-level data, structurally modeling the piecewise-linear budget constraints imposed by increasing block pricing. We develop a mathematical expression for the unconditional price elasticity of demand under increasing block prices and compare conditional and unconditional elasticities analytically and empirically. We test the hypothesis that price elasticity may depend on price structure, beyond technical differences in elasticity concepts. Due to the possibility of endogenous utility price structure choice, observed differences in elasticity across price structures may be due either to a behavioral response to price structure, or to underlying heterogeneity among water utility service areas.

Breakeven costs for distributed advanced technology water-treatment systems

Breakeven costs associated with the strategic distribution of advanced treatment units in a water supply network to manage network-derived water quality degradation were investigated. Disinfections by-product (DBP) formation was used as a representative water quality degradation parameter. A basic DBP formation model was used to predict that fraction of residential service population receiving water degraded below required quality levels within a hypothetical water utility service population. The costs of upgrading centralized treatment facilities to meet DBP water quality standards were estimated and then apportioned over that population fraction to estimate breakeven or equivalent cost allowances for an alternative distributed treatment approach. Breakeven costs for single-connection treatment units were calculated for a range of service populations. A sensitivity analysis of the impacts of various network parameters on breakeven costs revealed the existence of singularities—sudden shifts in optimal technology selection—resulting from relatively small variations in required treatment levels.

California Water Service Group (DE)

AbstractWater Utilities (MIC: 7.2 SIC: 4941 NAIC: 221310)California Water Service Group is a utility water company that provides regulated and non‐regulated water utility services to over 2.0 million customers in 100 communities in California, Washington, New Mexico and Hawaii as of Dec 31 2004. Co. is the parent company of California Water Service Company, Washington Water Service Company, New Mexico Water Service Company, Hawaii Water Service Company, Inc. and CWS Utility Services. The sole business of Co. consists of the production, purchase, storage, purification, distribution and sale of water for domestic, industrial, public, and irrigation uses, and for fire protection.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities' Virtual Managed Competition Using Benchmarking

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities' Virtual Managed Competition Using BenchmarkingThe City of Charlotte, North Carolina's Managed Competition Program is a City initiative that seeks the best service at the lowest cost through a competition between City forces and the private sector. The program reaches into many facets of City services delivery such as solid waste collections, fleet and street maintenance, and water and wastewater utility services. The units providing these...Author(s)Jason JenningsBarry GulletMyron OlsteinSourceProceedings of the Water Environment FederationSubjectSession 73: Utility Management: Alternate Methods: Sometimes Alternate equals BetterDocument typeConference PaperPublisherWater Environment FederationPrint publication date Jan, 2006ISSN1938-6478SICI1938-6478(20060101)2006:6L.5772;1-DOI10.2175/193864706783775649Volume / Issue2006 / 6Content sourceWEFTECFirst / last page(s)5772 - 5786Copyright2006Word count261

California Water Service Group

AbstractWater Utilities (MIC: 7.2 SIC: 4941 NAIC: 221310)California Water Service Group is a utility water company that provides regulated and non‐regulated water utility services to over 2.0 million customers in 100 communities in California, Washington, New Mexico and Hawaii as of Dec 31 2004. Co. is the parent company of California Water Service Company, Washington Water Service Company, New Mexico Water Service Company, Hawaii Water Service Company, Inc. and CWS Utility Services. The sole business of Co. consists of the production, purchase, storage, purification, distribution and sale of water for domestic, industrial, public, and irrigation uses, and for fire protection.

California Water Service Group

AbstractWater Utilities (MIC: 7.2 SIC: 941 NAIC: 21310)California Water Service Group is a utility water company that provides regulated and non‐regulated water utility services to over 2.0 million customers in 100 communities in California, Washington, New Mexico and Hawaii as of Dec 31 2004. Co. is the parent company of California Water Service Company, Washington Water Service Company, New Mexico Water Service Company, Hawaii Water Service Company, Inc. and CWS Utility Services. The sole business of Co. consists of the production, purchase, storage, purification, distribution and sale of water for domestic, industrial, public, and irrigation uses, and for fire protection.

Influence of Tap Water Quality and Household Water Use Activities on Indoor Air and Internal Dose Levels of Trihalomethanes

Individual exposure to trihalomethanes (THMs) in tap water can occur through ingestion, inhalation, or dermal exposure. Studies indicate that activities associated with inhaled or dermal exposure routes result in a greater increase in blood THM concentration than does ingestion. We measured blood and exhaled air concentrations of THM as biomarkers of exposure to participants conducting 14 common household water use activities, including ingestion of hot and cold tap water beverages, showering, clothes washing, hand washing, bathing, dish washing, and indirect shower exposure. We conducted our study at a single residence in each of two water utility service areas, one with relatively high and the other low total THM in the residence tap water. To maintain a consistent exposure environment for seven participants, we controlled water use activities, exposure time, air exchange, water flow and temperature, and nonstudy THM sources to the indoor air. We collected reference samples for water supply and air (pre–water use activity), as well as tap water and ambient air samples. We collected blood samples before and after each activity and exhaled breath samples at baseline and postactivity. All hot water use activities yielded a 2-fold increase in blood or breath THM concentrations for at least one individual. The greatest observed increase in blood and exhaled breath THM concentration in any participant was due to showering (direct and indirect), bathing, and hand dishwashing. Average increase in blood THM concentration ranged from 57 to 358 pg/mL due to these activities. More research is needed to determine whether acute and frequent exposures to THM at these concentrations have public health implications. Further research is also needed in designing epidemiologic studies that minimize data collection burden yet maximize accuracy in classification of dermal and inhalation THM exposure during hot water use activities.

Connecticut Water Service, Inc.

AbstractWater Utilities (MIC: 7.2 SIC: 4941 NAIC:221310)Connecticut Water Service is a holding company of five regulated water utilities that supply water to 86,750 customers in 42 towns throughout Connecticut and Massachusetts as of Dec 31 2003. In addition, Co. owns six unregulated companies, including the real estate companies of Chester Realty, Inc. and BARLACO; New England Water Utility Services and Connecticut Water Emergency Services, which provide water‐related services; Crystal Water Utilities, which owns The Crystal Water Company of Danielson and three rental properties; and Barnstable Holding Company, which owns Barnstable Water Co. and BARLACO.

Do Consumers React to the Shape of Supply? Water Demand Under Heterogeneous Price Structures

We estimate the price elasticity of water demand with household-level data, structurally modeling the piecewise-linear budget constraints imposed by increasing-block pricing. We develop a mathematical expression for the unconditional price elasticity of demand under increasing-block prices and compare conditional and unconditional elasticities analytically and empirically. We test the hypothesis that price elasticity may depend on price structure, beyond technical differences in elasticity concepts. Due to the possibility of endogenous utility price structure choice, observed differences in elasticity across price structures may be due either to a behavioral response to price structure, or to underlying heterogeneity among water utility service areas.

A STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF HOUSEHOLD WATER QUALITY AND USE ACTIVITIES ON INDOOR AIR AND INTERNAL DOSE LEVELS OF TRIHALOMETHANES - OVERVIEW OF METHODS AND FINDINGS

ISEE-244 Abstract: Individual exposure to trihalomethanes (THMs) in tap water can occur through ingestion, inhalation or dermal exposure. Studies indicate that activities associated with inhaled or dermal exposure routes result in a greater increase in blood THM concentration than ingestion. Previous studies of these exposure routes have focused primarily on the activities of showering and bathing. In this study, we determined the relative contribution of other household water use activities for THM exposure assessment. We conducted our study at a single residence in each of two water utility service areas, one with relatively high (median = 136 ug/L) and the other low (median = 38 ug/L) total THM in the residence tap water. To maintain a consistent exposure environment for 7 participants, we controlled air exchange, water flow and temperature, and non-study THM sources to the indoor air to the greatest extent possible. We collected reference samples for water supply (cold tap) and air (pre-water use activity), as well as source water, and ambient air samples for each of 11 water use activities. These activities included ingestion of hot and cold tap water beverages, showering, clothes washing, hand washing, bathing, hand dishwashing, and secondary shower exposure. We collected blood samples before and after each activity and exhaled breath samples, at the beginning of each day and post-activity, from each participant. Summary statistics for measured THMs in water, air, blood, exhaled air samples, and for temperature measurements of the water samples were calculated, as were ratios between post- and pre-activity blood and exhaled air concentrations. We found that showering (10 minutes) and bathing (20 minutes) activities consistently resulted in measurable increases in median blood THMs in the two study groups. For at least one site, smaller increases were also observed for hand dishwashing (10 minutes), use of and being proximate to automatic clothes and dishwashers (over 1 hour), hand washing, and secondary exposure to a showering event (13 minutes). These increases were observed for all species of THM, except bromoform, and regardless of whether the study site was characterized by high or low total THMs. The largest changes in median exhaled breath THM concentrations, regardless of study site, were due to showering and bathing activities, and to a lesser extent, hand dishwashing. Although our study population is small, our results indicate the importance of activity and individual differences for exposure assessment of THMs in epidemiologic investigations.

California Water Service Group (DE)

AbstractWater Utilities (MIC: 7.2 SIC: 4941 NAIC:221310)California Water Service Group is a utility water company that provides regulated and non‐regulated water utility services to over 2.0 million customers in 99 communities in California, Washington, New Mexico and Hawaii as of Dec 31 2003. Co. is the parent company of California Water Service Company, Washington Water Service Company, New Mexico Water Service Company, Hawaii Water Service Company and CWS Utility Services. The sole business of Co. consists of the production, purchase, storage, purification, distribution and sale of water for domestic, industrial, public, and irrigation uses, and for fire protection. Annual water production totaled nearly 132.00 billion gallons for 2003.

LUCI Land Use in Central Indiana Model and the Relationships of Public Infrastructure to Urban Development

New urban development creates a need for additional public infrastructure, including improved transportation facilities and extended water and sewer utility services. At the same time, the provision of new public infrastructure can significantly affect the urban development patterns. Plans for public infrastructure must take into account both future urban development patterns and the effects of those plans on those future patterns. The Land Use in Central Indiana (LUCI) model simulates future urban development for a large region. The model generates alternative development scenarios incorporating different policy choices and assumptions about future development. These include choices about the provision of public infrastructure and the effects of such infrastructure on urban development. LUCI thus serves as a tool that can help people understand complex relationships between urban development and the provision of public infrastructure.

WILL INVESTOR‐OWNED WATER UTILITIES GROW OR DIE?

As American life grows more urbanized and densely populated, patterns of water utility service and financing must inevitably change to meet new conditions. Investor‐owned facilities, though, seem not to be adapting fast enough, and must rouse themselves.

Review of Developments in Water Utility Law, 1963–64: ABA Subcommittee Report

This report covers decisions concerning the extent of regulatory‐commission jurisdiction and methods of setting rates for water utilities, including an evaluation of rate base, allowable expenses, and rate of return. It discusses the legal issues arising in setting water rates and in water rate design, along with the problems inherent in extending and rendering water utility service. Finally, the report touches on service area boundaries, condemnation problems, and the regulatory problems of municipal water utilities.

Study of Materials to Replace Copper‐Base Alloys in Meter Manufacture: Joint Discussion

This joint discussion of a study of materials to replace copper‐base alloys in water meter manufacture was implemented due to the cost of copper‐base alloys constantly rising and because copper is indispensable and scarce during emergencies. Therefore, companies in the water meter industry have collectively supported an investigation of polymeric materials and various metals as possible replacements for bronze in meter manufacture. The objective of the research program, which was conducted at Armour Research Foundation, was to determine the materials that are as good as or better than bronze as a water meter housing in one or more of the following: cost (of material or manufacture); availability (particularly in times of national emergency); and, quality of service in the field. A second objective was to determine, with the assistance of the water supply industry, the suitability of the proposed materials for water utility service. The materials that were evaluated, immersion testing, tensile strength, flexural strength, machined discs, surface defects, molding and evaluation, and metals as substitutes are all discussed in this article. Study conclusions indicated that bronze was definitely the most resistant to corrosion by potable water.