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Water Utility Options for Low‐Income Assistance Programs
Author(s) -
Hasson David S.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal ‐ american water works association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1551-8833
pISSN - 0003-150X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1551-8833.2002.tb09457.x
Subject(s) - water utility , low income , service (business) , business , public economics , marketing , economics , water supply , engineering , demographic economics , environmental engineering
As water rates increase, in many cases faster than the public's ability to pay, greater numbers of water utility customers may experience difficulty paying their water bills, even for basic levels of service. Fortunately, there are many ways that utility managers can address affordability issues, including assistance programs that benefit both customers and the water utility. This article discusses the experiences of the City of Portland, Oregon, with more than 15 years of helping its low‐income customers pay their bills on time and avoid shutoffs.