Providing financial expertise to California’s rural water utilities

The California Rural Water Association (CRWA) is the State’s leading organization dedicated to providing technical assistance to rural water and wastewater utilities. RDN has partnered with the CRWA to conduct water and wastewater rate studies for California’s rural utilities, completing dozens of studies annually.

We work with each utility to design rates that meet their specific needs and to achieve financial planning objectives. Some of the rural utilities we support have no prior experience performing a rate study and have minimal historical data. RDN helps each utility bridge their data gaps by performing econometric projections to forecast future demand, expenses, and revenues. Our goal is to ensure continued or improved financial performance and health for each utility we serve.

After we engineer rates and financial solutions, the next step is to garner support and public trust. We tailor traditional and innovative approaches to communicating each utility’s message. Messaging ranges from traditional technical reports detailing operating, maintenance, and infrastructure expenses, to data visualization tools and materials that effectively communicate and distill utility objectives in an easy-to-understand format. This includes supporting utilities with Proposition 218 noticing and public hearings.

In the past year, RDN has provided water and wastewater rate study support to the following rural utilities:

• Apple Valley Foothill County Water District
• Apple Valley Heights County Water District
• Apple Valley View Mutual Water Company
• Daggett Community Services District
• Juniper Riviera County Water District
• Orosi Public Utility District
• Patterson Tract Community Services District
• Sheep Creek Water Company
• Thunderbird County Water District
• West Valley County Water District