Full Description

The authors focus on small water systems and develop a relatively simple, quantitative assessment of the viability of small water systems using information already on file with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. The resulting index of viability, the Small Utility Ranking Formula (SMURF), is based on an examination of 20 indicators of viability; five each in the areas of size, rates, management, and finance. The index results in an overall viability score on a scale of 0 (nonviable) to 100 (viable), as well as sub-rankings on a scale of 0 to 25 in four major areas (size, rates, management, and finance). Section two of this paper briefly characterizes the population of small water systems in Pennsylvania. Section three is a complete description of the 20 factors which comprise the SMURF index. Section four describes the resulting SMURF scores for 139 utilities in Pennsylvania. This section also contains a comparison of SMURF scores for several companies to onsite reviews and other company-specific information. Section five presents an analysis of these companies which places them into six major categories. Finally, section six contains a series of recommendations for the use of these categories and for future activities and research.

Product Details

Published: 01/01/1994 ISBN(s): 0898677726 Number of Pages: 20File Size: 1 file , 890 KB