1st Edition

Fundamentals of Water Finance

By Michael Curley Copyright 2017

    This book addresses ways to provide the highest quality water services at the lowest possible cost, and examines the major finance issues that system managers face. It deals with grants, loans, municipal bonds, tariffs/rates and subsidies, as well as the major government finance programs offered by the Department of Agriculture and the EPA. It also provides managers with the tools to devise innovative financial strategies to make their systems much more efficient. This fully revised edition presents an easy-to-read guide for understanding the myriad options available for financing water and wastewater projects and how to evaluate the most appropriate options.

    Financial Mechanics. Types of Debt. Accounting & Disclosure. Subsidies & Affordability. Tariffs (Rates). Impacts of Conservation. Municipal Bonds. Rating Agencies. Regulation. Municipal Bond Insurance. Other Credit Enhancement Strategies. Government Programs. Public/Private Partnerships (PPPs). Commercial Banks. Hidden and Not-So-Hidden Costs. Professional Associations. Sources of Good Financial Information. Coming Trends.

    Biography

    Curley, Michael

    "Fundamentals of Water Finance comes at just the right time as sector leaders struggle with how to provide the ratepayer with the most value for their dollar both through the traditional bond market and innovative ways to leverage existing and develop new financing opportunities to spur innovation and technological advances in the water sector. I have always been a fan of Michael Curley’s work and this book is a sterling example of why I will continue to be one. It is my pleasure to recommend this book to anyone in the water industry seeking to learn more about water project finance."
    —Adam Krantz, National Association of Clean Water Agencies, Washington, DC, USA

    "Michael Curley is one of the nation’s leading experts on environmental finance and a nimble, creative thinker who argues, forcefully, for a refocusing on the premier challenges to water quality in the 21st century: nonpoint source pollution or unregulated runoff from farms and everything else human beings do across the landscape."
    —Tracy Mehan, American Water Works Association, Denver, Colorado, USA

    "As we confront today the costly, critical challenge of repairing water lines, treatment plants, and related facilities, as well as of addressing serious, ongoing problems associated with non-point source pollution, Michael Curley does the country a great service explaining options, choices, and new approaches in his timely, well-written primer on financing the infrastructure needed to provide Americans the clean water essential for life and so many other purposes."
    — William K. Reilly, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1989-93, Washington, DC, USA