Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure in Appalachia

405 Pages·2005·6.28 MB·English

Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure
in Appalachia
An Analysis of Capital Funding and Funding Gaps

Jeff Hughes, Richard Whisnant, Lynn Weller,
Shadi Eskaf, Matthew Richardson, Scott Morrissey, Ben Altz-Stamm

The UNC Environmental Finance Center
School of Government
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
July 2005
ii Drinking Water and Wastewater in Appalachia

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Drinking Water and Wastewater in Appalachia iii
Contents
List of Figures............................................................................................................................vii
List of Tables...............................................................................................................................ix
Acknowledgments.....................................................................................................................xi
List of Abbreviations...............................................................................................................xiii
About UNCEFC.........................................................................................................................xv
Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................1
1 Introduction........................................................................................................................13
Background on Appalachia...................................................................................................
Background on the Appalachian Regional Commission..................................................
Study Goals and Research Questions..................................................................................
Levels of Analysis...................................................................................................................
Study Components.................................................................................................................
Study Limitations....................................................................................................................
Limits of the Data....................................................................................................................
2 Water and Wastewater Services in Appalachia............................................................27
Drinking Water........................................................................................................................
Wastewater..............................................................................................................................
Ambient Water Quality..........................................................................................................
Environmental Characteristics Influencing Service...........................................................
Summary..................................................................................................................................
3 Assessments of Needs for Water and Wastewater Infrastructure in
Appalachia...........................................................................................................................57
Scope and Implementing Organizations.............................................................................
Purpose.....................................................................................................................................
Frequency and Planning Period...........................................................................................
Methodology............................................................................................................................
Accuracy...................................................................................................................................
Undocumented and Unidentified Needs............................................................................
iv Drinking Water and Wastewater in Appalachia
4 Capital Needs for Water and Wastewater Infrastructure in Appalachia................73
The Clean Watersheds Needs Survey..................................................................................
The Drinking Water Needs Survey......................................................................................
Other National Studies...........................................................................................................
State-Level Studies..................................................................................................................
Needs by Physiographic Region...........................................................................................
Needs by County Economic Status......................................................................................
Regulatory Needs as Water and Wastewater Funding Needs.........................................
Application of Needs Estimates to the Policy Challenges Facing Appalachian
Communities...................................................................................................................
5 Sources of Funding for Water and Wastewater Infrastructure ................................93
Current Revenues and Reserve Funds.................................................................................
The Private Capital Market...................................................................................................
Public Funding Programs......................................................................................................
6 Financial Management and Funding Strategies .......................................................111
Major Funding Challenges and Gaps..................................................................................
Regionalization and Local Partnerships..............................................................................
Full-Cost Pricing......................................................................................................................
Rate-Making Strategies for Low-Income Customers.........................................................
Targeted Assistance for Low-Income Customers..............................................................
Asset Management.................................................................................................................
Improvement of Water Efficiency........................................................................................
Planning Grants and Assistance...........................................................................................
Improved Access to the Private Capital Market.................................................................
Offering of Attractive Loan Terms.......................................................................................
Establishment of State Funding Sources..............................................................................
Pooled-Loan Programs...........................................................................................................
Streamlining of, Coordination of, and Cooperation among Funding Programs..........
The Role of Private Service Providers..................................................................................
A National Trust Fund...........................................................................................................
Optimization of Grant Programs..........................................................................................
Summary..................................................................................................................................
Drinking Water and Wastewater in Appalachia v
Appendices
A. Clean Water Needs per Appalachian County, 2000.....................................................
B. Public Funding Distributions to Each Appalachian County, 2000–2003..................
C. Appalachian Region Water and Sewer Needs Assessment:
Consultations and Discussion Forums...................................................................
D. Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Funding Survey..............................
E. Community and System Level Case Studies..................................................................
Accident, Maryland...................................................................................................
Corinth, Mississippi...................................................................................................
Jasper, New York.......................................................................................................
McDowell County, West Virginia, and Letcher County, Kentucky...................
Weaverville, North Carolina....................................................................................
West Virginia—American Water.............................................................................
F. Environmental Characteristics Influencing Service.......................................................
G. Methodology for Projection of Drinking Water Needs from the
Drinking Water Needs Survey.................................................................................
H. Regulatory Needs as Water and Wastewater Funding Needs...................................
I. Methodology for Compilation of the Master Funding Database.................................
J. Summaries of Selected Federal and State Funding Programs for Water and
Wastewater Infrastructure........................................................................................
K. Methodology for Analysis of
Household Water and Wastewater Expenditures ................................................
vi Drinking Water and Wastewater in Appalachia

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Drinking Water and Wastewater in Appalachia vii
Figures
Chapter 1
Figure 1-1. Economically Distressed Counties of Appalachia..................................................
Figure 1-2. Physiographic Regions of Appalachia.....................................................................
Chapter 2
Figure 2-1. Percentage of Appalachian Population with Public Water Service, 1995...........
Figure 2-2. Increase in Percentage of Population with Public Water Service,
1985–1995....................................................................................................................................
Figure 2-3. Number of Community Water Systems in Appalachia.........................................
Figure 2-4. Community Water Systems in Appalachia, by Source of Water.........................
Figure 2-5. Appalachian Population Served by Community Water Systems, by
Source of Water.........................................................................................................................
Figure 2-6. Percentage of Appalachian Community Water Population Served by
Private Systems.........................................................................................................................
Figure 2-7. Percentage of Appalachian Population with Public Sewer Service, 1990...........
Figure 2-8. Treatment Facilities and Collection Systems in Appalachia, 2000.......................
Figure 2-9. Number of Septic Tanks per Square Mile in Appalachia, 1990............................
Figure 2-10. Percentage of Appalachian Households Using Septic Tanks and
Cesspools, 1990..........................................................................................................................
Figure 2-11. Percentage of Appalachian Households Using Septic Tanks and
Cesspools,
by County, 1990.........................................................................................................................
Figure 2-12. River Basins of Appalachia......................................................................................
Chapter 3
Figure 3-1. Documented Clean Water Needs per Capita, Tennessee Counties versus
All Counties in Appalachian States, 2000..............................................................................
Chapter 4
Figure 4-1. Facilities in Appalachia with Greatest Needs in Categories I–V.........................
Figure 4-2. Documented Needs per Capita in Categories I–V.................................................
Figure 4-3. Facilities with and without Documented Needs in Categories I–V....................
Figure 4-4. Population of Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Appalachian Counties,
by County Economic Status.....................................................................................................
Chapter 5
Figure 5-1. Documented Needs for Wastewater Systems in West Virginia, versus
Current Revenues.....................................................................................................................
viii Drinking Water and Wastewater in Appalachia
Figure 5-2. Communities in Appalachia with Credit Ratings from Moody’s for
Water and Sewer Purposes......................................................................................................
Figure 5-3. Disbursements in Appalachia by Federal and State Programs,
2000–2003....................................................................................................................................
Figure 5-4. Disbursements in Appalachia by Major Water and Wastewater Programs,
2000-2003....................................................................................................................................
Figure 5-5. Per Capita Disbursements for Water and Wastewater Projects from
Stand Alone State Programs, 2000–2003................................................................................
Figure 5-6. Disbursements of Federal and State Programs in the Appalachian
Region of North Carolina, 2000–2003.....................................................................................
Chapter 6
Figure 6-1. Community Water Systems per County in Selected Appalachian States...........
Figure 6-2. Average Percentage of Household Income Spent on Water and
Wastewater Services in Appalachia.......................................................................................
Figure 6-3. Per Capita Disbursements for Water and Wastewater Projects from
Federal and State-Originated Programs, 2000–2003............................................................
Drinking Water and Wastewater in Appalachia ix
Tables
Chapter 1
Table 1-1. Population and Area of Each Appalachian State in Comparison with Rest of
State.............................................................................................................................................
Chapter 2
Table 2-1. Community Water Systems in Appalachia and U.S................................................
Table 2-2. Number of Special Government Districts and Authorities in Appalachia..........
Table 2-3. Percentage of Pipe in Each Age Category, by Ownership......................................
Table 2-4. Publicly Owned Wastewater Treatment Facilities, by Flow Rate, 2000................
Table 2-5. Endangered or Threatened Species, by Region........................................................
Chapter 3
Table 3-1. Differences among National Infrastructure Needs Surveys and Reports............
Table 3-2. Differences among State Infrastructure Needs Surveys and Reports...................
Table 3-3. Adjustment Factors Used by EPA in One Approach to Estimating National
Drinking Water Needs from 1997 DWNS.............................................................................
Table 3-4. New Wastewater Treatment Plants and Collection Systems Proposed for
McDowell County, W.Va.........................................................................................................
Chapter 4
Table 4-1. CWNS Needs Categories.............................................................................................
Table 4-2. Documented Needs for Wastewater and Collection Systems in Appalachia (in
Thousands of Dollars), by Type..............................................................................................
Table 4-3. Facilities with No Documented Needs in Categories I–V......................................
Table 4-4. Per Capita Documented Needs in Appalachia.........................................................
Table 4-5. Extrapolated Community Water System Needs in Appalachia............................
Table 4-6. Water and Wastewater Needs in Appalachian Counties as Determined by
State Surveys..............................................................................................................................
Table 4-7. Twenty-Year Water and Sewer Extension Needs in Kentucky..............................
Table 4-8. Wastewater and Drinking Water Needs and Population Served per System,
by Physiographic Region.........................................................................................................
Table 4-9. Criteria for Economic Status Classification of Appalachian Counties..................
Table 4-10. Population of Appalachian Counties, by County Economic Status....................
Table 4-11. Wastewater Infrastructure Needs in Appalachia per Facility and per Capita,
by County Economic Status.....................................................................................................
Table 4-12. Community Water Systems in Appalachia, by County Economic Status..........
Table 4-13. Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs in Appalachia per Community Water
System and per Person Served, by County Economic Status.............................................
x Drinking Water and Wastewater in Appalachia
Chapter 5
Table 5-1. Major Water and Wastewater Funding Programs in Appalachia and
Percentage of Total Funding in Appalachia, 2000 –2003.....................................................
Table 5-2. Total Funding per Capita by State-Specific Programs............................................
Table 5-3. Sample Indicators of Need and Expected Relationships with Funding...............
Table 5-4. Regression Analysis: Relationship between County Funding Totals (All
Funding Programs) and Indicators of Need.........................................................................
Table 5-5. Decreases in Appropriations of Capitalization Funds for Appalachian States...

Chapter 6
Table 6-1. Government-Owned Utilities in North Carolina and West Virginia....................
Table 6-2. Average Financial Results of Municipal Water and Sewer Systems for the
Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2003..............................................................................................
Table 6-3. Funding Coordination Methods Used by Funding Program Managers in
Appalachia.................................................................................................................................