Tools

GIS Resources

ArcGIS Online by ESRI is a new mapping program that uses the cloud to store data. This allows users to easily access their maps and mapping technology in the office as well as in the field. It is a relatively new program that is becoming very popular due to its user friendliness. Here you will find a list of resources that will help you learn and navigate the software as well as help you utilize the program to its maximum potential.

CUPSS: Check Up Program for Small Systems Version 1.3.9

CUPSS is asset management software developed by the US EPA for small and medium-size water and wastewater utilities. CUPSS was developed in response to a clear need from communities and trainers to consolidate and package asset management materials in an easy-to-use, clear and update-to-date fashion.

Water and Wastewater Rates Analysis Model

Shadi Eskaf, Andrew Westbrook
05/26/2015

Use this free Water and Wastewater Rates Analysis Model developed by the Environmental Finance Center at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to help set water and/or wastewater rates next year by projecting the utility’s expenses, revenues from rates, and fund balance for the next few years. Data inputs are minimal, and the tool has been updated to offer several new features and improvements to make it easier to test scenarios and help determine whether the utility needs to adjust rates in order to achieve financial sufficiency.

Water Utility Revenue Risk Assessment Tool

Shadi Eskaf
01/06/2014

As part the Defining a Resilient Business Model for Water Utilities project, the Environmental Finance Center at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill developed this tool to allow utilities and technical assistance providers to quickly determine the proportion of residential revenues from water sales that may be at risk of loss when residential customers change demand patterns. When residential customers reduce demand, utilities collect less revenue from customer sales than anticipated. Utilities often ask how much of their revenues are really and realistically at risk of loss if their customers lower their consumption.

Financing Wetland and Water Quality Improvements Tool

Glenn Barnes
07/24/2014

In many cases, successful wetland and water quality projects involve multiple partners and several separate revenue sources. This easy-to-use revenue tool developed by the Environmental Finance Center at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill allows one to 10 separate governments, non-profits, or other entities looking to partner together on water quality projects to estimate how much money they can raise from various sources. 

User-friendly Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Tool for Water & Wastewater Utilities

Shadi Eskaf
03/20/2014

Enter in all capital projects and this tool will project your fund balance (revenues, expenses and reserves), and necessary rate increases for the next 20 years, and more! Developed by the Environmental Finance Center at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Water Utility Customer Assistance Program Cost Estimation Tool

Shadi Eskaf, Andrew Westbrook
01/06/2014

This tool was developed by The Environmental Finance Center at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for the Water Research Foundation as part of the Defining Resilient Business Models for Water Utilities project. The tool is designed to help water utilities estimate the costs of implementing a customer assistance program.

A Guidebook of Financial Tools

A Guidebook of Financial Tools is a reference work intended to provide an overview of a range of ways and means that are useful for paying for sustainable environmental systems.
It is divided into ten sections, presenting outline information on approximately 340 financial tools that include traditional means of raising revenue, borrowing capital, enhancing credit, creating public-private partnerships, and providing technical assistance as well as financing tools that are, or might soon be, available to address significant environmental priorities.
The Guidebook is the product of a collaborative effort among members of the US EPA’s Environmental Financial Advisory Board (EFAB), the Directors and staff of nine university-based Environmental Finance Centers, the staff of the US EPA’s Environmental Finance Program, and numerous other contributors.

Climate Resilience Evaluation & Awareness Tool (CREAT)

The CREAT tool developed by the EPA allows users to evaluate potential impacts of climate change on their utility and to evaluate adaptation options to address these impacts using both traditional risk assessment and scenario-based decision making. CREAT provides libraries of drinking water and wastewater utility assets (e.g., water resources, treatment plants, pump stations) that could be impacted by climate change, possible climate change-related threats (e.g., flooding, drought, water quality), and adaptive measures that can be implemented to reduce the impacts of climate change.

NEPAssist

NEPAssist is a tool that facilitates the environmental review process and project planning in relation to environmental considerations. The web-based application draws environmental data dynamically from EPA Geographic Information System databases and web services and provides immediate screening of environmental assessment indicators for a user-defined area of interest. These features contribute to a streamlined review process that potentially raises important environmental issues at the earliest stages of project development.