Listen How to put a price on the priceless...That's something that water utilties grapple with as they figure out what to charge customers for this precious resource. As part of Connecting the Drops, our statewide radio series on water issues, Maeve Conran takes a look at how water is priced and whether we're paying enough. |
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David LaFrancethe CEO at the American Water Works Association. The AWWA writes the authoritative manual |
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Melissa Elliott with Denver Water says they chose the new three-tier price structure with conservation in mind. |
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Marsha Holmes who lives in the Park Hill neighborhood of Denver has seen only a slight increase in her |
Take the Next Step: Read & Listen to More
The Colorado Foundation for Water Education wants to help you speak fluently and learn more about the economics of water. Check out the following:
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Charles Howe, professor emeritus in the Department of Economics, Institute of Behavioral Science at the University of Colorado, Boulder, has written several articles and books on pricing water and how it might influence consumer behavior. "We don't charge enough for our urban water really, because a typical water utility being publicly owned, simply does not charge the customer for the value of the raw water that they're treating and then providing to the customer." He recently co-authored an (unpublished) report on water utilities not listing the value of the water rights as part of the assets on which they can earn a return. Some water providers like Boulder and Denver own senior water rights worth millions of dollars. Listen to this extended interview with Howe for more.
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Connecting the Drops Partners
Connecting the Drops is a radio collaboration between the Colorado Foundation for Water Education and Colorado Community Radio Stations KGNU, KDNK and KRCC.
Support for 2017 programming comes from CoBank