Water and Wastewater Industry Can Address Funding Challenges through Public-Private Partnerships

Challenges through Public-Private Partnerships
As water and wastewater utilities are challenged to minimize rate increases while balancing limited budgets – complicated by deferred maintenance, chronic underinvestment, competing projects and compliance mandates – one solution to consider is the public-private partnership (PPP) model.

“The PPP model can restructure and provide capital to help the utility manage its existing system assets or implement new capital improvement projects,” said Bruce Allender, Chief Operating Officer of infraManagement Group LLC (iMG), a wholly owned subsidiary of Black & Veatch. “Additionally, it allows the transfer of risk from the utility to the private sector while protecting the ratepayer. It provides for the optimization of life cycle costs and alternative management of these costs.”