From Profit to Polity
From Profit to Polity: A U.S. Water Utility’s Transition to a Government-Shareholder Model
By: Dr. Janice Beecher
The Pennichuck Corporation, located in New Hampshire, U.S., offers a unique opportunity to explore the rare structural transition from investor-ownership to a government-shareholder model for a long-standing regional water utility. In early 2012, concluding a ten-year dispute, the City of Nashua leveraged its power of eminent domain to become Pennichuck’s sole shareholder not by a taking but by a stock purchase agreement transferring the entirety of the company’s regulated and unregulated assets. The study draws on primary documentation and data to review the terms of the transaction and contrast the ex-ante and ex-post models. Utility operations and state economic regulation remained constant over the transition, thus controlling for their potential effects. A trend analysis of financial and other data provides evidence of outcomes, including the lower cost of capital and operations. This information-rich case illustrates the arduous process of public taking, which questions the institutionalized policy asymmetry favoring private over public acquisitions that undermines structural competition.
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Water Pricing & Affordability: Public vs Private Ownership
Water Pricing and Affordability in the US: Public vs Private Ownership
By: Xue Zhang, Marcela González Rivas, Mary Grant, Mildred E. Warner
Report examining the 500 largest community water systems in the US to explore if ownership is related to annual water bills and the percent of income that low-income households spend on water. Results show that, among the largest water systems, private ownership is related to higher water prices and less affordability for low-income families. In states with regulations favorable to private providers, water utilities charge even higher prices. Affordability issues are more severe in communities with higher poverty and older infrastructure. Water policy needs to address ownership and regulation and explore new mechanisms to ensure water affordability for low-income residents.
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In American Towns, Private Profits From Public Works
In American Towns, Private Profits From Public Works
This December 2016, New York Times in-depth analysis outlines research on the impacts of privatizing water systems. The New York Times' analysis found, among other things, that privatization deals can help "financially desperate municipalities to make much-needed repairs, they can come with a hefty price tag — not just to pay for new pipes, but also to help the investors earn a nice return."
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Open Meeting Laws
Open Meeting Laws 3d Ann Taylor Schwing
Open Meeting Laws are designed to give citizens the information they need to understand decisions made by their elected representatives. This resource provides a compendium of open meeting laws at the federal, state, and local level.
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Risks Posed by Water Privatization
The Risks Posed by Water Privatization
A July 2020 memo from In the Public Interest outlining a few of the serious risks posed by water privatization deals and provides examples of communities that have dealt with the harmful consequences of water privatization. Risks highlighted include:
- Loss of public control and decision making
- Reduced access and affordability
- Declines in quality that jeopardize health and safety
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El Cerrito Green Infrastructure Plan
El Cerrito Green Infrastructure Plan: Improving Stormwater Quality in El Cerrito and its Watersheds
The City of El Cerrito is one of 76 local government entities subject to the requirements of the California Regional 
Water Quality Control Board for the San Francisco Bay Region’s (RWQCB’s) Municipal Regional Stormwater Permit (MRP). The MRP was last reissued in November 2015. The MRP mandates implementation of a comprehensive program of stormwater control measures and actions designed to limit contributions of urban runoff pollutants to San Francisco Bay.
This Plan will guide El Cerrito’s shift from conventional “collect and convey” storm drain infrastructure to more resilient, sustainable stormwater management that reduces runoff volumes, disperses runoff to vegetated areas, harvests and uses runoff where feasible, promotes infiltration and evapotranspiration, and uses natural processes to detain and treat runoff. This will include implementing, where and when feasible, Green Infrastructure features such as pervious pavement, bioretention facilities (“rain gardens”), green roofs, and rainwater harvesting systems. This Plan details how these methods can be constructed on public and private parcels and within the public right-of-way.
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Takeaways: Convening on Nature-based Infrastructure
Key Takeaways from the AAAS EPI Center Federal Convening on Green and Nature-based Infrastructure
The American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues (AAAS EPI 
Center) hosted a convening for federal employees and contractors working on green and nature-based infrastructure projects, policy, programs, and research. The goal of the two-day event was to advance the conversation around federal efforts for the equitable planning and implementation of green and nature-based infrastructure across agencies through a multi-disciplinary, cooperative approach.
Participants in the convening discussed how to advance projects, update programs, and streamline efforts across the federal agencies on green and nature-based infrastructure. The subsequent passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act makes roughly $300 billion available for environmental and sustainability projects. This report summarizes the information presented during the federal convening and discussions among participants as well as key resources identified by participants.
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Planning & Implementing Green Infrastructure
Resources for planning and implementing green infrastructure and nature-based solutions
The AAAS Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues (AAAS EPI Center) spoke with more than 50 green and 
nature-based infrastructure experts to compile this list of resources for those interested in the planning and implementation of nature-based solutions. This list includes a wide array of tools and resources related to funding and financing, equitable planning and implementation, stormwater management practices, habitat restoration, hazard mitigation and community engagement. Resources pertaining to New England offer regional implementers a succinct list of geographically-based green and nature-based infrastructure resources.
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State of Equity Practice in Public Sector GSI
State of Equity Practice in Public Sector GSI Report
Green Infrastructure Leadership Exchange's ‘State of Equity Practice in Public Sector GSI Report’ tells the equity story of a shared vision for future investments needed to accelerate equitable implementation of GSI from the perspective of those public sector entities primarily responsible for managing stormwater. Drawing mainly from a comprehensive survey issued to capture equity-focused experiences, the report is an attempt to develop a national baseline understanding of the extent to which equity considerations are being centered within GSI planning, implementation and monitoring and are contributing towards achieving the equity objectives of communities. Future editions of this report will include additional data that informs a collective understanding of the extent to which this is playing out in different parts of the country.
Approaching GSI work with equity front of mind compels practitioners to better understand who benefits from green infrastructure and who is marginalized from these benefits. Further, it reminds practitioners that one’s race, wealth, zip code, or other forms of identity do not and should not define the benefits one receives. This report is broken into a number of sections that address different parts of the GSI lifecycle. Each section includes:
- A brief introduction to the section topic
- The presentation of public sector GSI survey results, complemented by findings from relevant external reports or research that support, refute or expand further on the survey results
- A selection of ‘spotlights’ celebrating good practices of public sector entities across the US, and
- A ‘gaps and opportunities’ table capturing practical opportunities to support the acceleration of equity-targeted actions relevant to the section focus.
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Exploring GSI Funding & Financing Options for Eugene
Exploring Green Stormwater Infrastructure Funding and Financing Options for Eugene, Oregon
With over 400 public property GSI facilities and 1,200 private property facilities, and intentions to continue to install additional green infrastructure facilities, Eugene faces challenges with the rising cost of ongoing operation and maintenance (O&M) of public facilities and oversight of maintenance of private facilities, which are currently the responsibility of the City’s Parks and Open Space Division. To support the City’s efforts to build green infrastructure throughout the community on public and private property while meeting operation and maintenance needs, in partnership with WaterNow, American Rivers, and Corona Environmental Consulting, a multidisciplinary team of city engineers, financial managers, and GSI operators from City Public Works have been exploring funding, financing, and incentives that may be available to Eugene.
In particular, WaterNow worked with the City to explore funding and financing options for addressing the rising cost of GSI facility maintenance and to further enhance investment in GSI facilities on public and private property for accelerated environmental benefits. This report details WaterNow’s exploration of approaches to closing the identified funding gap for ongoing O&M costs, examination of Eugene’s options to leverage municipal bonds or other forms of debt to finance capital investments in public and private GSI facilities, and provides a hypothetical example of how Eugene might finance an enhanced GSI program.
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