An online SOQ about our services, our team, and the work we've done for our local government clients in the water sector.

1. 2016
Financial Services
Statement of Qualifications

2. Your Partner in the New Economy
It’s a new economy. Since the
global financial collapse, the U.S.
and the world entered what some
call a ‘new economy’. It’s a place
where what used to work doesn’t
and where everything is harder
than it once was.
Our utility clients have not been immune
to the effects of the changing world
economy. Historically safe and stable
businesses, today’s utilities face new
and sometimes unprecedented
challenges. Demand for services is
falling affecting once stable revenue
streams; capital markets are more
restrictive and more regulated limiting
access to funding; customers have less
money and are more resistant to fee
increases for public services; and utility
infrastructure faces a critical need for
reinvestment in the billions of dollars.
2
Hawksley Consulting provides financial guidance
that makes a difference. With the perspective that can only
come from partnering with utilities just like yours in multiple locations
around the nation and around the world, our financial experts find the root
causes of concern, and give you the options you need with results you can
trust.
Contents
Financial Planning 3 Data Products 22
General Fund Solutions 8 Our People 25
Cost-of-Service Analysis 10 Project Examples 27
Utility Rates and Fees 15
Affordability Analysis 18

3. UTILITY FINANCIAL
PLANNING
3

4. Optimal Performance Starts Here
4
The trademark of a great plan is that it safely
gets you where you want to go.
At Hawksley, our experts understand that the
success of your utility is often judged on how well
you avoid financial turmoil while you continue to
invest in your assets and deliver great service. A
financial plan from Hawksley helps you identify
difficulties in advance, analyze your options, and
plot the course for a safe arrival at your future. Our
FAMS-XL modeling platform always result in the
lowest possible rates for your customers without
sacrificing the financial performance you need.
Optimal Results Built-In Customer Focus Performance Planning
Our financial planning models contain
years of experience embedded in
customized VBA code and scenario
management tools that make the task
of finding the best financial path as
simple as possible. Everyone has a
financial model, we have a
optimization process to find you the
best results possible, every time.
The task of finding the best plan that
will minimize impact on ratepayers is a
difficult one, which is why we
developed proprietary algorithms that
quickly find the best mix of debt and
cash funding for capital projects with a
smooth and predictable plan for rate
increases. Our financial plans always
find the lowest rates possible.
What are the financial performance
metrics most important to you?
Whether you need to keep an eye on
cash reserves, monitor coverage
ratios, or increase your credit rating,
Hawksley gives you dozens of
financial metrics and ratios as part of
our standard reporting outputs so you
can plan for your success.
0%
40%
80%
120%
160%
1 4 7 10 13 16 19
CumulativeRateIncrease
Years
Hawksley Financial Plan
93% capital projects funded;
50% reduction to rate impact;
0% new debt
Actual Client’s Financial Plan
Before Hawksley engagement

5. Custom Algorithms for Optimal Results
5
It’s not ‘the usual’ model.
Microsoft Excel models are the standard in
today’s utility financial planning tools. It
seems every consultant has one, and for
good reason: it’s an excellent and flexible
analytical tool that can be customized
quickly for your needs.
But ours is no ordinary model. We’ve
spent years perfecting customized VBA
coding that allows you to quickly find the
optimal solution for funding your projects
and sustaining operations at the lowest
possible cost to your rate payers.
Evaluate Goals &
Constraints
Propose a Debt
Ceiling
Calculate Level
Rate Increases
Recalculate Need
for Debt & Reduce
How it Works
Algorithm reads the values
input in the model for debt
coverage, fund reserve,
and others, and stores
these values as
constraints.
For a selected period
between 1 and 3 years, the
algorithm ‘proposes’ a debt
ceiling to cover the cash
flow gaps sufficient to fund
projects and reserves.
If a rate increase is
necessary to meet the
constraints, the algorithm
changes rates at an equal
level for each of the 1 to 3
years being considered.
If the rate increases raise
additional cash, the
algorithm reduces the
amount of debt in the
ceiling to the minimum
needed.
The algorithm manages
an optimization process
that repeats itself as
many times as necessary
until a solution is found
that minimizes both the
debt issued and the rate
increases needed!

6. A Focus on the Impacts that Matter
6
We Keep Your Eye on the Real Bottom
Line.
Publicly owned utilities are made to provide
needed services to their communities at
the lowest possible cost to the rate payers.
A long-term financial plan provides tons of
information and metrics to help keep you
on track, but its our focus on rate impacts
that makes the entire process useful and
relevant.
Our financial plans result in an actionable
long-range plan for adjustments to utility
rates. Accomplish all your goals without the
turmoil. We provide smooth, predictable
increases that are always the minimum
amounts necessary, guaranteed.
29% 29%
6% 6% 6% 6% 6%
Yr. 1 Yr. 2 Yr. 3 Yr. 4 Yr. 5
Step 1: Uncalibrated
Step 2: Step-Calibration
Step 3: Smoothed Calibration
126%
All three will work, but which one
would you prefer?
….we thought so.

7. Custom Outputs for Optimal Communication
7
If we can measure it, you can track it.
Most of our clients require some level of
customized reporting above and beyond our
standard outputs. No matter what your specific
needs, if there is a financial outcome you want to
track, our consultants can customize your plan
to do what you need it do for you.
Simple, attractive reporting tailored for
what’s important to you.
We reduce the complexity of financial
information into simple, understandable reports
that are perfect for presenting to elected bodies,
or for posting on your websites. Clear, effective
communication of financial data is a cornerstone
of our financial services practice.

8. FINANCIAL PLANNING
FOR GENERAL FUNDS
8

9. Solving the General Fund Crisis
9
A New Paradigm for Local Government
General funds were not immune from the global
financial meltdown. Historically stable revenue
streams from property tax, and economic growth
fueled by active debt markets came to a halt.
The new economy is one with lower tax receipts,
high demand for public services, and fewer
opportunities for growth. Our clients asked for
solutions, and we answered with all the features
and benefits of our FAMS-XL utility plan, but
tailored for the complexity of general funds.
Uniquely Yours Solutions that Work The Buy-in is Built-in
The general fund is a complex network
of reporting entities from police
departments, to public works, to parks
and recreation and more. No two
communities are the same, and so our
model is built with the ability to quickly
customize everything from the names
of the funds, to the way the revenues
flow into an among them, to the way
you manage and report.
Our structured approach helps focus
the evaluation to cost reductions first,
diversified revenue sources second
and increases to current revenue
sources third. The effect upon tax
payers is always in focus, and our
model accounts for impacts in property
tax, sales tax, and fees altogether into
a comprehensive cost impact for
residents and businesses.
Solving local government funding
issues requires a lot of agreement
from a lot of stakeholders. Our
specially adapted version of FAMS-XL
allows you to test all the ideas in a live
setting with all stakeholders present
and instantly evaluate the results
together. It’s an approach that satisfies
the curiosities of everyone involved
and it often leads to consensus.
-$60
-$40
-$20
$0
$20
$40
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
$millions
Total Unrestricted Reserves
Last Plan FAMS-XL Plan City Target

10. COST-OF-SERVICE
ANALYSIS
10

11. The Key to Unparalleled Defensibility
11
A truly equitable rate is one that reflects the
true cost of service.
According to the latest EPA assessment of
community water systems, most utilities don’t
charge enough to recover their costs completely.
You don’t have to be one of them. The key to
charging the right amounts to the right customers
is a Hawksley cost-of-service analysis. We break
down the system costs and produce an air-tight
connection between the rate you charge and the
costs you incur. It’s the legal standard – it’s
Hawksley’s every day practice.
Detailed Cost Knowledge Connected to Rates Sustain Your Business
We break utility system costs down
into operating and capital costs and
determine where exactly in the system
those costs are incurred. How much
does it cost to treat water? How much
for storage and delivery? How about
fire fighting? We uncover it all in
dollars and cents per unit of service
provided as every cost becomes
known and measured.
In many jurisdictions, it has become
critical to support the rate you charge
with the costs you’ve incurred. While
this has always been generally true,
legal cases are now challenging
utilities to justify individual elements of
their rate structures with cost
justification for each. Our analysis can
provide an air tight connection
between costs and rates.
Public utilities may be non-profit
enterprises, but that doesn’t mean
they don’t make money. To the
contrary, they must make money in
order to be sustainable. The question
is how much is appropriate? We can
help you find the right spot to become
sustainable and stay that way. It’s part
of every cost-of-service we do.
$
source of supply
treatment
transmission
pumping
metering
$
Total O&M
and Capital
Costs

12. Defensibility is Detailed Cost Knowledge
12
Your System is Unique, and so are Your Costs.
Water systems are like snowflakes: each one looks alike from a distance,
but in truth no two are the same. Hawksley’s cost-of-service analysis
breaks down the unique costs of your system. Whether yours is a
groundwater system with minimal disinfection treatment only, or you have
to collect source water from hundreds of miles away and pump it to a
dozen elevations after a complex treatment process, our standard
techniques will provide you with detailed cost data for every system
function so you can know where your costs are incurred and how much
you have to charge your customers as a result.
$0.00
$0.50
$1.00
$1.50
$2.00
$2.50
$3.00
$3.50
$4.00
$4.50
Source of
Supply
Supply
Conveyance
Water
Treatment
Transmission Storage Distribution Meters &
Services
$1.10
$0.33
$1.35 $0.41 $0.23
$0.84 $0.24
Cumulative Costs Cost of This Function
$/1,000 gal.

13. Cost ItemCost Item
For Your Rates and So Much More
13
Cost Items
Function
Demand Type
Joint Use
shared by all
Class
A
Class
B
Class
C
Class
D
Class
E
Class
F
wholesaleretail
Class
E
Class
F
wholesale
Detailed Cost Information Gives You More than
Just Defensible Rates, it Gives you Actionable
Business Intelligence.
With our approach, you will have unparalleled
knowledge of your costs that will not only make your
rates air tight, but will also give you insights to your
business you’ve never had before.
What you want to know…
Hawksley
Others
Total and average cost per unit for each customer class  
Total cost of avg. day, peak-day, and peak-hour demands.  
Costs by pressure zone or other locational factors. 
Costs by business activity. 
Cost of unbilled water. 
Costs by utility function from source to tap. 
Cost ItemCost ItemSpecific Uses
shared by some

14. Master the Right Kind of Profitability
14
Being a Non-Profit Doesn’t Mean “Broke.”
Even though municipal utilities are not operated to maximize profits like a normal
business, that doesn’t mean they have to lose money. On the contrary, revenues must
routinely exceed expenditures on an annual basis in order to promote a balanced budget,
and to raise long-term funding for capital projects. It’s not only OK to make money, it’s
essential to the sustainability of the utility.
Operating Costs
Debt Service
Operating Costs
Depreciation
Interest Expense
Equity Returns
Reserve & CIP
Ratepayer Savings
Maximum Level of
Economic Profit
Appropriate Municipal
Earnings Model
RateCharged
RateCharged
We help you manage
earnings to truly sustain
your utility and we can
measure the benefits you
provide to ratepayers.

15. UTILITY RATES AND FEES
15

16. Your Bill is One Important Number
16
The rate you charge says a lot about you, and
your customers are listening.
Of all the things you do, the rate you charge is the
one that all your customers see. Every month they
are reminded of the value of everything you’ve
done with just one number on their bill. Make that
number the best it can be with a Hawksley rate
design. We help negotiate the options and find the
right one for you and your customers. From the
most complex structure to the very simple, we
have the perspective help you choose.
Your Rate, Your Values Connected to Costs Manage Demand
Every community is different and utility
rates that work well in one may not
work at all in others. Do you desire
conservation? Is rate stability more
important? The answers to these
questions and others can help your
Hawksley team guide you to the right
options for you and rate structure that
reflects your values.
The foundation of a great rate
structure is its link to cost-of-service.
Hawksley never provides rate design
services without an understanding of
your cost-of-service basis. The rates
we design are tied directly to your
costs making your rates dependable,
explainable, and defensible to even
the most ardent of critics.
It’s no secret that customers react to
prices by changing their demand
behaviors. Because of this, a properly
designed rate can be a very effective
demand management tool. Hawksley
knows how to design rates to send the
right price signals to the right
customers at the right times to give
you new ways to sustain.
Perceived fairness

17. Capacity Fees
17
As systems grow, capacity fees can be an
important source of capital to help defray the
full costs.As the cost of utility infrastructure has
increased, the cost of holding or building new capacity to
serve new customers has become its own kind of financial
burden. When properly designed, capacity fees will cause
new customers to pay their fair share of the capital costs
that have been incurred to provide the capacity to serve
them. Yet, capacity fees are one of the most contested of
all utility charges. Getting it right requires a rigorous
evaluation of both the system itself and the costs of
expanding it.
Full Cost Recovery Linked to Your Plan Air Tight Defensibility
Investments in infrastructure carry
three types of costs: the raw cost of
the assets themselves; the cost of
inflation; and full opportunity cost. All
of these costs are real and
measurable, but not many recover
them all. Hawksley elevates your
understanding of these costs allowing
you to seek out the most equitable fee
possible.
Capacity fees are all about growth and
the investment required to facilitate it.
Part of your investment has already
been made, and another is yet to
come. Your master plan and CIP are
keys to ensuring the charge is set
correctly in terms of units of capacity
as well as the expected cost of
expanding. Our approach gives
financial perspective to your plans.
Capacity charges are among the most
litigated of all utility rates. Our
consultants have successfully
defended their work in courts all over
the country, so we know our approach
provides undeniable linkage of costs
incurred to service provided making
your charges defensible.

18. AFFORDABILITY ANALYSIS
18

19. When Affordability Matters
19
Utility services are no longer the most
affordable household expense.
As a utility, you can’t control the macro economy in
your community. Like everyone else, you can only
react to events as they unfold. One of the biggest
issues facing utilities today is the affordability of the
services you provide. Whether you’re facing
regulatory enforcement, or just trying to make your
plan fit with the financial capacity of your
customers, an affordability analysis from Hawksley
will arm you with a detailed understanding of how
much is too much, and for whom.
For Every Customer All Income Levels Accuracy is the Standard
In large communities, income levels
vary across households and tend to be
grouped into neighborhoods. Our
affordability analysis examines income
and rate impacts for every census tract
in the service area and returns a
simple color code for each indicating
high, medium, or low financial
burdens. No customers are excluded.
Normal affordability analyses only look
at your average bill for one customer:
the one who happens to earn the
median household income exactly.
Our analysis examines income
distribution fully across 16 standard
income bands in every census tract.
From very high to very low income
levels, you will know the impact on all
customers, not just one.
Customers don’t receive the ‘average
bill’ from you, they receive an actual
bill for the services they used. Our
affordability analysis cross references
actual billing data to each census tract
to compare real bills to real household
income, resulting in the most accurate
assessment of affordability currently
available anywhere.
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Water/Sewer Bills CPI-U Income Growth
Water & Sewer bills have increased at
3x the rate of inflation since 2000.
Source: US Census Bureau

20. Affordability Like You’ve Never Seen Before
20
2020 20262015
Affordable Unaffordable
We provide decision quality analyses in visual formats that are easy to understand.
With 53 data points for every census tract, you can imagine that the amount of information in a standard
Hawksley affordability analysis might become overwhelming. Take those data points and project them 20
years into the future by linking to one of our financial plans, and the cloud of data becomes even more
daunting. We turn all your data into decision-quality information, presented in the format you need so you
can use it to make critical decisions.

21. When You Need the Data, It’s There
21
Current Projected Projected Projected Projected Projected Projected Projected Projected Projected Projected Projected Projected
City/Town MHI 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
150 Pawtucket city 1,736 $42,500 1.02% 1.11% 1.18% 1.20% 1.23% 1.30% 1.41% 1.57% 1.75% 1.85% 1.91% 1.95% 2.00%
151 Pawtucket city 1,745 23,882 1.79% 1.94% 2.07% 2.11% 2.16% 2.28% 2.47% 2.76% 3.08% 3.25% 3.35% 3.43% 3.51%
152 Pawtucket city 1,451 11,612 3.82% 4.14% 4.40% 4.49% 4.60% 4.84% 5.25% 5.85% 6.53% 6.89% 7.11% 7.28% 7.44%
153 Pawtucket city 866 33,281 1.29% 1.40% 1.49% 1.52% 1.55% 1.64% 1.78% 1.98% 2.21% 2.33% 2.41% 2.47% 2.52%
154 Pawtucket city 901 33,750 1.28% 1.39% 1.48% 1.51% 1.55% 1.63% 1.77% 1.97% 2.20% 2.32% 2.40% 2.45% 2.51%
155 Pawtucket city 1,655 50,670 0.85% 0.92% 0.97% 0.99% 1.02% 1.07% 1.17% 1.30% 1.45% 1.53% 1.58% 1.62% 1.65%
156 Pawtucket city 1,024 52,576 0.78% 0.85% 0.90% 0.92% 0.95% 1.00% 1.08% 1.21% 1.35% 1.42% 1.47% 1.51% 1.54%
157 Pawtucket city 1,382 52,000 0.86% 0.93% 0.99% 1.01% 1.03% 1.09% 1.18% 1.31% 1.47% 1.55% 1.60% 1.63% 1.67%
158 Pawtucket city 1,491 60,223 0.72% 0.78% 0.83% 0.85% 0.87% 0.92% 1.00% 1.11% 1.24% 1.31% 1.35% 1.38% 1.41%
159 Pawtucket city 1,108 49,972 0.86% 0.94% 1.00% 1.02% 1.04% 1.10% 1.19% 1.33% 1.48% 1.56% 1.61% 1.65% 1.69%
160 Pawtucket city 1,523 27,313 1.56% 1.69% 1.80% 1.84% 1.89% 1.99% 2.16% 2.40% 2.68% 2.83% 2.92% 2.99% 3.06%
161 Pawtucket city 1,839 28,456 1.56% 1.69% 1.80% 1.83% 1.88% 1.98% 2.14% 2.39% 2.66% 2.81% 2.90% 2.97% 3.03%
163 Pawtucket city 1,135 56,509 0.79% 0.85% 0.91% 0.92% 0.95% 1.00% 1.08% 1.20% 1.34% 1.42% 1.46% 1.50% 1.53%
164 Pawtucket city 1,698 30,729 1.39% 1.50% 1.60% 1.63% 1.67% 1.76% 1.91% 2.13% 2.38% 2.51% 2.59% 2.66% 2.71%
165 Pawtucket city 1,812 53,682 0.85% 0.92% 0.97% 0.99% 1.01% 1.07% 1.16% 1.29% 1.44% 1.52% 1.57% 1.60% 1.64%
166 Pawtucket city 707 35,313 1.24% 1.34% 1.42% 1.45% 1.49% 1.57% 1.70% 1.89% 2.11% 2.23% 2.30% 2.36% 2.41%
167 Pawtucket city 1,238 31,421 1.34% 1.45% 1.55% 1.58% 1.62% 1.71% 1.85% 2.07% 2.31% 2.43% 2.51% 2.57% 2.63%
168 Pawtucket city 1,308 64,625 0.68% 0.73% 0.78% 0.80% 0.82% 0.86% 0.93% 1.04% 1.16% 1.22% 1.26% 1.29% 1.32%
169 Pawtucket city 850 65,455 0.72% 0.78% 0.82% 0.84% 0.86% 0.90% 0.98% 1.09% 1.22% 1.28% 1.32% 1.35% 1.38%
170 Pawtucket city 1,762 51,384 0.87% 0.94% 1.00% 1.02% 1.05% 1.10% 1.19% 1.33% 1.49% 1.57% 1.62% 1.66% 1.69%
171 Pawtucket city 1,844 39,038 1.11% 1.20% 1.28% 1.31% 1.34% 1.41% 1.53% 1.71% 1.90% 2.01% 2.07% 2.12% 2.17%
Census
Tract
Number of
Households
Multiple Years of Projections
Easy-to-Read Results That Tell You What’s Going on in an Instant
We give you the data and analysis to pass every kind of scrutiny.
Let’s face it: public service brings with it public and sometimes legal scrutiny. Our consultants are
nationally recognized experts who understand the need to always support the findings at the highest
levels. Our affordability work has been used in EPA consent decree cases where it has been assailed by
opposing experts. Our approach stands the test time because, while it offers thousands of degrees of
detail more than standard government approaches, it is based entirely on factual data that yield
undeniable results.

22. DATA PRODUCTS
22

23. Municipal Utility Financials
23
Wouldn’t it be nice know how you compare?
With an industry as widespread as the water
industry, it’s often been difficult to find simple data
to help inform financial policymakers on what is
“normal”, or better yet, the difference between
“good” and “great.” Hawksley has developed one
of the largest repositories of financial metrics for
the US water sector precisely to help utility
managers answer these questions with real data
instead of subjective assumptions. We help utilities
make fact-based decisions with our comprehensive
warehouse of financial fact.
Accurate and Unbiased Comprehensive Effective
There are other data repositories
available, but many lack accuracy
because the data are self reported and
unchecked. Hawksley uses only
audited financial statements that are
publicly disclosed on agencies’
websites. The data are then hand-
entered and go through two quality
checks before becoming part of our
financial database.
Our data set is completely unbiased
with utilities selected randomly from
throughout the U.S. Our database
grows every day, but currently includes
500 agencies, 4 years worth of
reports, and 100 data points for every
year of information reported, for a total
of 200,000 data points that can be
filtered and sorted so you can make it
all relevant to you.
We provide standard reporting outputs
including dozens of typical financial
ratios and a complete common-size
set of financial statements. Every ratio
and output is easily compared to
industry averages. Customized
reporting allow us to create custom
league tables comparing your utility to
industry leaders, or industry neighbors
– whatever the need may be.

24. The Largest Database of Utility Financials
24
• 2,000 municipal utility audits in
a single place
• 500 agencies represented
• 100 data points for every
reporting year
• Standard and customized
reporting features
• Unlimited possibilities

25. OUR PEOPLE
25

26. Our Strength is our Team
26
• 29 full-time consultants, more
than any other firm in the water
sector
• More 20-year+ consultants than
any other firm
• More members of the AWWA
Rates and Charges Committee
• Over 250 years of combined
experience
• Completed over 1,000 utility
financial studies
• Located in 8 states and every
time zone
Note: not all staff shown

27. PROJECT EXAMPLES
27

28. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
28
The City of Fort Lauderdale is a city of approximately 270,000 population in southeast
Florida and a well know tourist destination and center of commerce in the region. After the
collapse of the financial and housing markets in 2008 and the resultant precipitous drop in
City revenues, the City, like many other cities and counties in the country, struggled to
balance their budget each year with cost cutting measures, use of reserves and deferral of
capital projects.
We have provided utility financial planning and utility rate services to the City for a number of
years and in FY 2012, during a review of the water and wastewater utility financial plan with
the City Manager, we discussed our recent development of a financial sustainability model
for the General Fund that worked much like our FAMS-XL financial plan development model
that we had been using for the City’s water and sewer utility. That discussion resulted in the
City retaining us to develop a ten year financial sustainability model for the City and the
facilitation of a decision support process to assist the City Manager in supporting his City
Commission in 1) understanding the depth of the financial challenges facing the City, and 2)
developing a plan that if implemented would provide the City a sustainable financial future.
We worked closely with City staff in the population of the model and the development of a
sustainable financial plan. The City was facing annual cash flow deficits of about $18 million
and we projected that the City would deplete its reserves to a zero balance within about
three years if nothing was done. We conducted several interactive work sessions with the
City Commission, with our model up and running and projected on a large viewing screen,
and worked with them interactively to a solution that included a significant cost saving
measure and an increase in the City’s Fire Assessments from 50% cost recovery to 100%
cost recovery. We also showed that with the plan that was ultimately adopted, the City could
begin to devote significant dollars towards sorely needed capital improvements that had
been deferred since the 2008 recession.
The City Commission had us attend its final budget hearing in FY 2013 with our model up
and running and projected on a large viewing screen as they made their final decision
regarding the level of reserves versus capital expenditures going forward.
Services Provided:
Integrated Financial Sustainability
Analysis; General Fund, all utility
funds and special revenue funds
(eight funds total).
Contact:
Lee Feldman, City Manager
lfeldman@fortlauderdale.gov
(954) 828-5013

29. Castle Pines North Metropolitan District
29
Located 20 miles south of the Denver metropolitan area, Castle Pines North is a bedroom
community of approximately 10,000 residents. Like all of its neighbors, the District has
relied exclusively on Denver Basin groundwater sources for its entire history. In the 1990s,
geologists determined that the Denver Basin aquifer was a nonrenewable groundwater
source. Subsequent studies confirmed that rapid growth in the county was over drafting the
source. With aquifer pressure falling, and new wells being drilled every day, the District
embarked on a plan to acquire a portfolio of surface water rights to replace its reliance on
the aquifer.
By 2010, the District had acquired an array of alternative supplies ranging from senior river
rights, to agricultural sources, and three major storage alternatives. All told, the District had
acquired resources that when viewed together would lead to 392 possible configurations.
Since the District had incurred debt in order to acquire all of these resources, it soon
became urgent for them to settle on a comprehensive plan and more toward implementation.
Our team engaged with the District by approaching the issue from an economic cost-benefit
approach rather than a typical engineering approach. The most important criteria for the
District’s board of directors was that whatever alternative was selected would provide the
most renewable water at the lowest total cost to the residents. Our team of economists,
water resource experts, treatment engineers, and system modelers engaged in a classic
business case evaluation process first filtering the 392 possible configurations to 190, to 32,
and ultimately to three for the board to choose from. Each step helped identify the best
alternatives from the peer group based on the board’s criteria.
Before our engagement started, the District had been considering a plan that would have
cost a five-fold increase in rates and would have resulted in a need to own or otherwise
partner in up to four water treatment plants. Our analysis reduced the rate projection in half
and provided the District with three alternatives, each of which capable of meeting 97% of
the District’s build-out demands with renewable water. It also allows the District to sell off
some of the assets it had acquired previously at a gain. Our recommendations saved the
District $2.5m annually compared to its original plan, for a capitalized savings of $100
million.
Services Provided:
Long-range financial planning,
water/wastewater rate design,
cost-of-service analysis, water
supply feasibility report.
Contact:
Jim Nikkel, District Manager
jim@cpnmd.org
(720) 308-6079

30. Narragansett Bay Commission
30
The Narragansett Bay Commission's mission is to maintain a leadership role in the
protection and enhancement of water quality in Narragansett Bay and its tributaries by
providing safe and reliable wastewater collection and treatment services to its customers at
a reasonable cost. NBC’s service area includes Providence, North Providence, Johnston,
Pawtucket, Central Falls, Cumberland, Lincoln, the northern portion of East Providence and
small sections of Cranston and Smithfield. Narragansett Bay Commission owns and
operates Rhode Island’s two largest wastewater treatment plants along with an extensive
infrastructure of interceptors, pump stations, tide-gates and combined sewer overflows
(CSOs). At present, NBC is responsible for discharges from the two WWTFs and from the
CSOs, while the individual member communities are responsible for discharges from their
separate stormwater drainage systems.
In 1992, NBC first entered a Consent Agreement (CA). In 1994, the Conceptual Design
Report (CDR) was approved and NBC began preliminary design of those facilities. With the
input of a stakeholder group, NBC revisited the planning effort based on the revised
guidelines, which established a three-phase program with the goal of reducing annual CSO
volumes by 98 percent, and achieving an 80 percent reduction in shellfish bed closures. The
main component of Phase I was a deep rock storage tunnel. Phase II consisted of
interceptors to connect additional outfalls to the Providence Tunnel plus several sewer
separation projects. The procedure established by the CA requires NBC to initiate
preliminary design of the Phase III facilities upon the completion of Phase II.
Hawksley developed a financial model, FCA model and affordability model utilizing the
WARi (Weighted Average Residential index) methodology and New 2014 EPA Financial
Capability Assessment Framework connected to Integrated Planning, to analyze several
different Phase III scenarios. Case studies on a census tract level for Providence,
Pawtucket, and Central Falls were developed including sensitivity analysis to consider aging
infrastructure and potential costs that could be required of these communities. These studies
identified the number of households in specific areas that would face a high burden when
comparing rising wastewater bills with income.
Services Provided:
Sewer system financial and rate
planning including financial
capability assessment (FCA) to
support consent decree
negotiations.
Contact:
Tom Brueckner, Director
tbrueckner@narrabay.com
(401) 461-848

31. Coachella Valley Water District
31
Coachella Valley Water District is a multi-faceted agency with a 1,000 square miles service
area that delivers irrigation and domestic (potable) water, collects and recycles wastewater,
manages stormwater, and imports water to replenish its groundwater basin. Hawksley is
currently providing a comprehensive cost-of-service and rate design study for canal water,
potable water, wastewater and the replenishment program. Rates are being designed to
fund the utility’s long-term projected costs of providing service while proportionally allocating
costs among customers, providing a reasonable and prudent balance of revenue stability,
and complying with the substantive requirements of California Constitution article XIII D,
section 6 (Prop 218).
The study has yielded a number of significant recommendations that were collaboratively
developed between District staff and the Hawksley team. Among the most significant
recommendation was to eliminate a series of service areas that had different water and
wastewater rates as a result of historical acquisitions. It was also recommended to merge
the three separate replenishment programs into a single program and fund. This will serve
to strengthen the three funds as it faces significant revenue challenges in the coming years.
Potable water rates are water budget-based rates; Hawksley employed our water budget
model to better understand the current and anticipated effects of the current drought. The
rate policies have been refined by using historical data to better understand water use
patterns and minimize revenue volatility. The rates are also being adjusted to manage the
impact of a recent regulatory decision to require the district to remove chromium VI from its
water supply. The “Cr VI” program will need to begin immediately and will cost more than
one hundred million dollars, therefore it is critical that the financial strategy make the best
use of available reserves, establish strong creditworthiness, and maximize on debt-funding
opportunities.
All of these changes to rates will have a substantial impact on the local economy (farming
and tourism). Hawksley has been working successfully with the district board to find rate
design solutions that mitigate impacts on the local economy while staying within the bounds
of legal requirements.
Services Provided:
Water, wastewater, canal water,
and groundwater replenishment
program. Long-term financial
planning, cost-of-service, and rate
design including water budget
rates.
Contact:
Kay Godbey, Director of Finance
kgodbey@cvwd.org
(760) 398-2661 ext. 2240

32. City of Santa Fe, NM
32
The City of Santa Fe is located in a semi-arid resort area with very little access to new clean
water supplies, so water conservation is extremely important. Since 2001 the City has been
directing policies toward an overall reduction in per capita water usage. The city achieved a
25% reduction in the per-capita water usage from 139 gallons in 2001 to 103 gallons in
2009. Per capital water use continues to decline today.
Hawksley’s consultants began working with the City’s water rates in 2001, at the beginning
of their demand management program, and developed rates with input from the City’s staff,
a citizen’s advisory committee, and elected officials. Our pricing approach in Santa Fe was
to anticipate and encourage reductions in demand while providing increased revenue
performance in the short term and revenue stability in the long term. We used a
comprehensive “Conservation-Impact” model to create a statistical simulation of the City’s
customer billing patterns in reaction to changes in user rates. Our model results ended up
projecting both revenue and water demand to within 5% of the actual level attained by the
City one year after implementing our recommended rates.
The conservation rates we recommended became the City’s permanent rate structure. Since
then, the City has been commended by many environmental groups for having the best
example of conservation pricing in the Western US. As demand continued to decline in the
City, our model has remained accurate. The City is now in its third year of zero rate
increases after a seven year turnaround period guided by our long-range financial plan and
revenue stability measures. The City has not only improved and stabilized its revenue, but
has also turned its bond rating from “junk” status in 1999 to a model of credit quality. The
City obtained an AAA rating from Fitch Ratings in 2009 and maintains a positive outlook
today.
Due to the success of the water pricing and conservation efforts, the City was able to delay
the design and construction of its Buckman Direct Diversion project by approximately 7
years, saving the City about $100M in the process.
Services Provided:
Water, wastewater, and solid
waste, long-term financial
planning, cost-of-service allocation,
wholesale rates, rate design and
impact fees, conservation rates
with elasticity of demand.
Contact:
Brian Snyder, City Manager
bksnyder@ci.santa-fe.nm.us
(505) 955-4271

33. Moulton Niguel
33
The Moulton Niguel Water District is a retail water, wastewater and recycled water purveyor
located in Orange County, CA. The district indirectly purchases wholesale water that
originates from Colorado River California Aqueduct. In 2014, the state of California issued
drought state of emergency declarations in response to record-low water levels in
California’s rivers and reservoirs, thereby impacting the cost of imported water and the
availability of water supplies.
Water rates are budget-based rates, with residential customers given an indoor and an
outdoor water budget for the first two tiers, respectively, and then three additional tiers which
are used to fund the conservation program and peaking costs. Commercial customers’ water
budgets are calculated based on a three-year rolling average of monthly water use.
Irrigation and recycled water customers’ water budgets are calculated in the same manners
as residential outdoor water budgets. Hawksley calculated a monthly fire protection charge
for properties with private fire suppression systems.
In response to the drought, Hawksley helped the district shape water shortage rates that
complement the district’s water shortage contingency plan, which adjusts customers’
assigned water budgets during specified stages. During Stages 2-5, any customer who
uses water in excess of their calculated water budget is required to pay a unit-based
administrative penalty. The conservation penalty is in addition to the standard volumetric
charge.
The district’s wastewater rates were structured to recover the District’s costs to operate and
maintain its wastewater collection system, and to pay wholesale costs for treating, and
disposing of its wastewater. The district elected to adopt fixed wastewater rates based on
the meter size since over 95% of the district’s wastewater costs are fixed in nature.
While the district’s Board was concerned about the proposed rate increases, Hawksley and
district staff met with the Board on multiple occasions and ultimately garnered the Board’s
support.
Services Provided:
Water, wastewater, and recycled
water, long-term financial planning,
cost-of-service allocation,
wholesale rates, and conservation
rates with elasticity of demand.
Contact:
Matt Collings, Assistant GM
MCollings@mnwd.com
(949) 795-8428