Vancouver has experienced significant growth in recent years and has taken steps to dramatically redevelop its downtown and waterfront amenities along the northern bank of the Columbia River. Our team has performed nearly 30 individual financial consulting engagements for the city.
Our team was first brought on back in 2013 to support the city’s growth. Developed water, wastewater and stormwater cost of service rate studies that involved preparing 30-year financial plans and rate strategies that are recalibrated annually.
Because Tacoma has a direct impact on surface waters feeding into Puget Sound, the costs of meeting municipal stormwater permit requirements have put pressure on stormwater user rates. Our team coordinated a technical advisory committee made up of municipal permittees to ensure broad applicability and relevance of the findings.
The “Tri-Cities” region of Eastern Washington is among the fastest growing areas in the state. To address the impact of growth on its utilities, and to align the utility rates with updated financial policy drivers, our team was initially engaged by the City of Richland to perform an electric utility rate study. In subsequent years our team has been retained to perform numerous projects for the city.
Our team has been partners with Aurora Water for the over 15 years, during which Aurora has led the state with innovative pricing strategies often replicated by other city utilities. We have developed the city’s current standard rate structure featuring a lifeline tier and three additional tiers designed specifically to mitigate revenue risks.
Our team developed the funding and annexation strategy for the 500-acre South Hillsboro community plan area. Work included a financial sustainability analysis of potential general fund impacts attributed to 8,000 dwelling units and nearly 1M sq. ft. of office and commercial buildings, three schools, regional recreational center and parks facilities.
The Pacific Northwest Waterways Association engaged our team on behalf of ports along the Columbia River and Snake River to quantify the economic impact of removing four dams along the lower Snake River. We conducted a USDOT compliant benefit cost analysis to determine the net impact dam removal would have.
Portland’s wholesale agreement, defining the terms and conditions of service for 19 water providers, will expire in 2026. Our team started as an advisor to facilitate consensus selection of features for the new agreement and later to assist Portland with implementing those features, including preparing the draft agreement and developing a new wholesale rate model.
The Greatrock North Water and Sanitation District retained our team to address its aging and failing reverse osmosis water treatment plant. The existing plant designed and built by the original developer had a capacity of 100 gpm and could not keep up with the desired capacity or the district’s water quality targets.
The Edgemont Ranch Metropolitan District was issued new, strict TIN, TN and TP limits that rendered their lagoon obsolete. As a remedy, the district looked to the BIOCOS technology, a hybrid activated sludge system to deliver more thorough treatment, consisting of two aeration tanks hydraulically connected to an alternating pair of sludge recycling and settling tanks.