AWWA JTMGT64458

After more than a decade of no rate increases, the Honolulu Board of Water Supply (BWS) conducted a strategic financial planning exercise in 2005 that confirmed the need for a significant increase in water rates. This conclusion arrived on the heels of other major rate increases that had affected Oahu's citizens. This paper reviews the Board's process for interacting with key stakeholders, developing targeted communication messages, and building support for a rate increase that will enable the utility to continue providing high quality service and reinvesting in its system. Includes table, figures.