供水商一直在采用新的费率结构来促进节约。从基于历史平均成本的费率转向基于边际成本的费率。这种转变的动机是希望向消费者发出节约饮用水的价格信号。向节约率结构的转变具有可预测的影响:它改变了谁支付什么，并增加了水务局未来收入流的可变性。虽然正确的费率结构的定义因社区而异，但应对保护费率结构带来的不确定性所需的管理策略是普遍的。收入不稳定会给供水商带来直接成本，比如借款成本的增加，以及未来供水的更复杂规划。本文描述了用于对采用节约率结构的水资源机构的经验进行实证检验的方法，并提出了可用于衡量和应对不确定性的量化工具，明确了收入稳定性、公平性和有效利用水资源激励之间的权衡程度。

Water suppliers have been adopting new rate structures to promote conservation. There has been a shift away from rates based on historical average cost towards rates based on marginal cost. This shift has been motivated by the desire to send consumers a price signal about the need to conserve drinking water. The shift toward conservation rate structures has predictable effects: it changes who pays what and increases the variability of future revenue streams to the water agency. Though the definition of the correct rate structure varies among communities, the managerial strategies necessary to cope with the uncertainty brought about by conservation rate structures are universal. Revenue instability causes direct costs to water suppliers in the form of increased costs for borrowing, and in more complicated planning for future water supplies. This paper describes the approach used to empirically examine the experience of water agencies that have adopted conservation rate structures and proposes ways that quantitative tools may be used to measure and cope with uncertainty, and make explicit the magnitude of tradeoffs between revenue stability, equity, and the provision of incentives for efficient use of water resources.