作为一门学科，经济学在供水领域经常被误解。规模经济，即单位成本增加而容量减少，是供水技术的一个普遍特征，而服务于1万人以下的小型公用事业占美国社区供水的80%以上。此外，许多小型公用事业公司都是私营企业，必须向公用事业委员会申请提高费率。需求的价格弹性对用水者也有特殊的相关性。理解经济原理和概念对于正确管理小型水系统和大型水系统是必要的。 包括9个参考文献、表格、图表。

As a discipline, economics is often misunderstood in the water supply field. Economies-of-scale, i.e., increasing unit costs with decreasing capacity, is a prevailing characteristic of water supply technology, and small utilities that serve fewer than 10,000 persons account for more than 80 percent of community water suppliers in the United States. In addition, many small utilities are privately owned and must request rate increases from public utility commissions. Price inelasticity of demand also has a special relevance for water users. An understanding of economic principles and concepts is necessary for the proper management of small water systems as well as large ones. Includes 9 references, tables, figures.