AWWA JAW49875

The authors developed a survey to learn about water providers' experiences using conservation rate structures. The survey included questions about service characteristics, demand levels before and after implementation of conservation rates, rate structures and price levels, billing and revenue, other conservation measures, and the objectives and effectiveness of rates and conservation efforts. Drawing on a number of respondent pools, the authors distributed the survey to 567 utilities and received 89 responses. This article represents a first step in evaluating the effect of conservation rate structures and gives water professionals a closeup look at the use of pricing in utility conservation efforts. Includes tables, figures.