19119_Authority_April_2026

62 The Authority │ April any economic development goals do not undermine long term utility sustainability or shift costs to existing ratepayers. Coordinate on land use and zoning to steer development toward areas with available capacity, and establish clear protocols for handling developer inquiries and public messaging. Know your system. Maintain current documentation of water supply and demand constraints, wastewater flows, treatment capacity, and hydraulic limitations. Keep hydraulic models, asset condition assessments, and capital improvement plans up to date so capacity and cost implications can be evaluated quickly and accurately. Establish financial and policy frameworks. Define rate structures, cost recovery mechanisms, and customer classifications for high volume or high risk users. Confirm (or establish) authority to assess impact fees, reserve capacity, recover compliance costs, and enter into special service agreements before those tools are needed. Develop clear public and stakeholder messaging. Prepare consistent messaging for elected officials, the media, and the public that explains the utility’s role, decision making process, and commitment to protecting ratepayers. Having a plan in place helps manage expectations and reduces pressure to make premature commitments when a project becomes public. With careful planning, clear financial frameworks, and enforceable agreements, utilities can serve data centers while protecting their systems, their finances, and their customers. S About the authors: Matthew Cichy is the senior quality lead at HRG for water and wastewater collection and conveyance systems. He is the firm’s lead engineer for pump stations, sanitary sewer condition assessment, and sewer rehabilitation projects. He is also a board member for the Swatara Township Authority. Ryan Killen is the senior quality lead for technical financial services at HRG. He has nearly 20 years of experience in a wide array of strategic, quantitative, and financial analysis, which he uses to help clients navigate challenges in operations management, strategic planning, funding strategies, annual budgeting, and utility evaluations.