Contact StepWise Today!
303.800.6638 Email Us

• Login
• Knowledge Center
• Who We Work For
• What We Do
• Who We Are

Kentucky American Latest in Big Water Rates

Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arizona and now Kentucky.  We’ve been tracking American Water Co. all year and reporting on the large increases that the company has requested in each of these states.  Kentucky is the latest.  The increase requested there is 37%.   The Kentucky American water rate increase contains very similar elements to all the others [...]  (read full article)

NY Times Chimes in on Infrastructure & Misses the Point

In a recent Op-Ed in the NYT, writer Bob Herbert regales us with the story of Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell who is evidently on a personal crusade to cure America’s infrastructure crisis.  An advocate for increased investment in infrastructure, we are told that Rendell personally increased Pennsylvania’s infrastructure spending by roughly triple only to see [...]  (read full article)

JM Eagle Whistle Blower Lawsuit

An ex-employee of JM Eagle files a lawsuit alleging impropriety in the manufacturing of water lines. Over 5 states have already joined this lawsuit. Does this impact your utility?  (read full article)

StepWise to Present Rate Course for Colorado Rural Water Association

StepWise will be presenting a 4-hour seminar at the annual convention of the Colorado Rural Water Association on Monday, February 15th at the Crown Plaza hotel in Colorado Springs, CO. The course provides insight into the utility rate setting process from initial financial policies and planning, to cost-of-service rate making and process improvements.  Targeted at elected [...]  (read full article)

Economics of Small Water Systems

As water and sewer infrastructure across the country ages, deteriorates, and eventually fails the cost of replacing it all becomes a growing concern.  The cost of replacements is fantastically large, and it doesn’t help that these needs have been largely unplanned, meaning that these large costs tend to come as a shock to oblivious rate-paying [...]  (read full article)

StepWise’s Utility Credit Rating Scorecard

An important part of our financial planning toolbox is the Credit Scorecard.  Embedded in our financial plan models prepared for clients, we compare your own metrics against the published median benchmarks for Fitch Ratings’ AAA, AA, and A rated credits, and to S&P’s Strong, Avg., and Low indicators.  While not an official credit rating by [...]  (read full article)

American Water Increasing Water Rates Yet Again

In the continuing saga of American Water and its wide scale requests for large increases in water utility rates in its service areas nationwide, we find the latest such request for its Arizona affiliate. Water Utility Rates will go up in Sun City, AZ by 28% and wastewater rates by 40% under Arizona American’s [...]  (read full article)

How Much is Enough for Utility Fund Reserve?

Water and sewer utilities are normally operated as an enterprise fund within a municipal organization.  All that means is that the utilities operate like an enterprise (i.e. a business) where the the revenues earned are supposed to be used to support the business without subsidization from a city’s general (i.e. taxes) fund.  Since utilities are [...]  (read full article)

Meet Our Consultants

We’ve recently finished some updates to our site and are glad to have added pages for all of our utility consultants.  We’re proud of our team and proud of the clients we serve.  Take a minute to get to know us: Jason Mumm Mike Dutton Fletcher Davis Becki Becker   (read full article)

A Good Example of Financial Planning

We came across this news article last night and thought it was a good example of strong financial planning by the community of Laurel, Mississippi. In this community, despite an identified need of over $11 million in line replacement costs, the city leaders used a five and ten-year financial plan to determine that they [...]  (read full article)