Adoption of Conservation Rate Structures for U.S. Water Agencies: A Case Study

Providing fresh, clean water for a burgeoning population is a global challenge requiring a variety of solutions including conservation. A significant determinant of water conservation strategies is the establishment of effective conservation rate structures (CRS). The identification of issues related to the adoption of CRS is important so water agency executives can adopt rates that provide agency economy, social equity for customers, and water resource sustainability. The problem addressed in this study was that much of the world is in a water crisis partially as a result of ineffective rate structures that fail to achieve the goals of economy, equity, and sustainability. The purpose of this qualitative, single case study was to identify water agency executives' perceptions of water rate issues related to economy, equity, and sustainability, and the associated strategies they use to implement effective CRS. The purposive sample for this study was 10 water agency executives in a Southwestern state who have implemented CRS. The data gathering method was semi-structured, open-ended interviews. Key study results revealed that the most prevalent issues occurred at the intra-organizational and inter-organizational levels of institutional capacity and were related to planning, leadership, teamwork, processes, and developing community buy-in. Conclusions of the study indicated that water agency executives focused on organizational capacity attributes when assessing issues related to CRS implementation. However, when devising strategies to address issues related to CRS implementation participants focused on specific approaches that depended on the level of organizational capacity and the public administration issue areas of economy, equity, and sustainability. Recommendations for water agency executives include the need for water agency executives to assess the capabilities of their organization at all levels before undertaking CRS implementation. Recommendations for future research include determining optimal organizational capacity attributes that facilitate the implementation of strategies for addressing issues associated with CRS implementation.