Water Economics and Politics Seminar Series
/ Water institutions and sector performance

Does consolidation improve drinking water system performance? Evidence from California

Speaker: Assist. Prof. Elizabeth Sorensen Montoya | Kansas State University, United States

Moderator: Prof. Djiby Thiam | Director: WPE – Water and Production Economics, University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa

Time: 16:00 South African Standard Time (SAST) | GMT +2

Topic: The U.S. drinking water sector is highly decentralised, with most systems serving small populations, limiting economies of scale and posing challenges for compliance with federal standards. This study evaluates whether consolidation improves system performance by examining impacts on Safe Drinking Water Act compliance, operating expenses, and consumer rates. Using California consolidation records linked to financial and violation data, I implement a staggered difference-in-differences design to estimate the impact of consolidation. Preliminary results indicate a statistically significant reduction in violations following consolidation, with no detectable changes in operating costs, capital expenses, or typical household water bills. These findings contribute to policy debates on consolidation as a tool for improving regulatory compliance without imposing measurable fiscal burdens on receiving systems.

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Elizabeth Sorensen Montoya

About the speaker: Elizabeth Sorensen Montoya is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University and a Faculty Scholar with the Kansas Water Institute. She received her PhD in Economics from the University of Colorado Boulder in May 2025. Dr Montoya is an environmental economist whose research examines drinking water quality and public health. Her work focuses on the causes and consequences of drinking water contamination, the effectiveness of regulation, and policy solutions to address ageing drinking water infrastructure – particularly in rural communities.

More on elizabethsorensenmontoya.com

Seminar format:

  • Live online session on Microsoft Teams
  • Duration: 1 hour
  • Live presentation with Q&A session

Who should attend: This series is open to students and faculty from academic institutions across South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, policymakers, engineering and technical professionals, advocacy groups, NGO staff, and anyone with a keen interest in water economics and policy.

The UCT-UCR Seminar Series

This seminar is part of the UCT-UCR Seminar Series: Water Economics and Politics, a collaboration between the University of Cape Town (UCT) and University of California, Riverside (UCR). Subscribe to our mailing list to receive updates on upcoming sessions.

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