Ensuring the financial viability of your water system is no laughing matter. However, with a little advance preparation you can easily put a smile on your customer's face (and we're not talking about fluoride).

In this article we’ll show you the finer points of establishing your budget, managing your assets, and preparing for the future—all in just three simple steps:
1. Budget Preparation.
2. Revenue and Expense Estimation.
3. Future Guesstimation (a.k.a. Financial Planning).

For hundreds of years our forefathers drank straight from the fertile waters of this great land. Clean drinking water spilled forth in abundance across the country and quenched the thirst of our rapidly growing nation.

Ours was a tough and rugged land where people often turned a blind eye to sanitation—often sharing the very water from their canteens with their trusty steeds after a long day in the saddle—untroubled by water borne illness or the large herds of buffalo that roamed the land unhindered by fences or well defined lavatories.

Originally published in 2005

Are you noticing a lot of new faces around town lately? If you have, the chances are your community is growing.

It's just that simple.

According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the nation is currently growing at a rate of roughly 3.2 million people a year. While some of this growth comes from people moving to this country in search of the elusive “American Dream,” much of the growth is just living proof that the nation’s fertility rate is at an all time high.

Imagine if you will that you are standing before a studio audience with four of your closest relatives (including your know-it-all brother-in-law Ed) as that handsome devil Richard Dawson prances across the stage in a strikingly loud plaid suit.

Looking directly at you, Richard points at the flashing scoreboard and shouts…

“Name something required every three years by community water systems in order to stay in compliance with EPA regulations?”