Synthesis of Water Rates in Delaware and Contiguous States (2004)

Abstract

The University of Delaware, Institute for Public Administration, Water Resources Agency (UDWRA) conducted an inventory of water rates for public- and investor-owned water utilities within Delaware and the surrounding states of Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The purpose of this inventory is to summarize and compare residential water rates for Delaware and surrounding states. The authors intend this report to be useful to water providers, Federal, State, and local water agencies and the public. This report is an update of the original water rate inventory prepared in September 1996 and a later report: Economic Synthesis of Water Rates in Delaware and Surrounding River Basins, August 21, 2000.

The UDWRA obtained water rate data from water utilities in each of the four states by contacting over sixty utilities by telephone and fax. Fifty-four purveyors forwarded water tariff data. The UDWRA summarized the data in a computer database. The appendix contains the database that includes the name of the water utility, contact person, address, and residential water rate information.

The UDWRA computed typical residential water rates assuming a quarterly residential use of 15,000 gallons per customer. Quarterly residential rates were computed based on four factors: the service charge, fire protection fee, quarterly consumption rates, and quarterly use fees.