With more than 100 AMWA member utilities participating, AMWA’s 2018 INSIGHT utility financial survey provided a robust update to the unique database that was established in 2008 to provide drinking water system managers a wealth of information on the financial practices and operations of comparable utilities throughout the country.
The INSIGHT initiative was conceived by AMWA members and designed specifically for the nation’s largest water systems. AMWA engaged Raftelis Financial Consultants, Inc. (Raftelis) to assist with refining the concept, executing a comprehensive national survey, and continuing the effort on a biennial basis. Last September, the sixth iteration of the INSIGHT survey was distributed to all AMWA members, and the survey officially closed with participation from 109 utilities.
Following the wrap-up, Raftelis compiled and analyzed the raw survey data and provided key analyses with brief editorial comments. Some graphs include results from the prior surveys to help identify industry trends. It is important to note that since the trending analyses are not based on the same group of utilities from survey to survey these analyses are intended only to indicate potential trends for the industry as a whole. This selection demonstrates the breadth and depth of possible analyses and represents a wide variety of data for comparison. It is, however, only a small fraction of the analyses possible.
The full 2018 INSIGHT database will be available to survey participants by February 1, and the INSIGHT dashboard will also be updated and available by that date. On February 21 at 2:00 p.m. ET, AMWA will host a webinar featuring Raftelis representatives who will present important findings from the 2018 survey and demonstrate how the database and dashboard can be used as valuable management tools.
Only utilities that participated in the 2018 survey can access the updated INSIGHT database and dashboard. Members without access can contact Carolyn Peterson about current options for completing the survey.