Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
That price gap applies to different countries, too, he says. “We pay
a fraction of rates that people are used to paying in countries like
Germany, France, and Holland.”
WATER FACTS
A 51-city survey of municipal water rates by Park Ridge,
New Jersey-based NUS Consulting Group* (http://nus
consulting.com) showed the following water rate trends
for 2009-2010:
Rates Unchanged
Double- Digit Increases
Huntington, West Virginia
Los Angeles, California: 20.7%
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Providence, Rhode Island: 16.6%
Binghamton, New York
San Francisco, California: 16.1%
New Orleans, Louisiana
Chicago, Illinois: 14%
Trenton, New Jersey
New York City: 13%
Newark, New Jersey
Atlanta, Georgia: 12.5%
Dover, Delaware
Sioux Falls, South Dakota: 12.1%
Indianapolis, Indiana
Miami, Florida: 12.1%
Albuquerque, New Mexico
St. Louis, Missouri: 12.1%
Grand Forks, North Dakota
Portland, Oregon: 12%
El Paso, Texas
Houston, Texas: 11.4%
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Biloxi, Mississippi: 10.5%
Memphis, Tennessee
Burlington, Vermont: 10.1%
Newport, New Hampshire: 10.1%
*NUS Consulting Group, “2009-2010 International Water Report & Cost Survey,” abridged
version (2010), http://nusconsulting.com.
Rate structures
.
The methods used to determine water rates vary
across the country. Some rate structures charge storm-water or run-
off fees, others don't. Certain areas don't meter water usage, and
determine cost by usage amounts. Alternatively, consumers may pay
a fl at rate, no matter how much water—1,000 gallons or 100,000
gallons—they use during a given period. Other locales have tiered
