https://scupper.top/ Dated cost measurements, rate studies and disagreements. Accounts are not syndicated: they carry a fiscal period and a folio instead. en 2026-09-16 09:00:00 +0000 https://scupper.top/jobs/set-a-stormwater-rate/ https://scupper.top/jobs/set-a-stormwater-rate/ 2026-09-16 09:00:00 +0000 A stormwater rate is a revenue requirement divided by a billing base. The requirement is built from four lines and the base is a survey, not a measurement. https://scupper.top/jobs/build-a-replacement-reserve/ https://scupper.top/jobs/build-a-replacement-reserve/ 2026-09-16 09:00:00 +0000 A replacement reserve is sized from the asset register and funded from rates. The target is years of replacement need, and the funding plan is a ladder. https://scupper.top/jobs/grade-a-pipe-network/ https://scupper.top/jobs/grade-a-pipe-network/ 2026-09-16 09:00:00 +0000 Grading a network means inspecting a sample, scoring the defects and reporting a distribution. The sample rule decides whether the answer describes the network. https://scupper.top/jobs/run-a-lifecycle-cost-model/ https://scupper.top/jobs/run-a-lifecycle-cost-model/ 2026-09-16 09:00:00 +0000 A lifecycle cost model has four inputs. Two of them decide the answer, and neither of them is the construction cost that gets all the attention. https://scupper.top/jobs/write-an-impact-fee-study/ https://scupper.top/jobs/write-an-impact-fee-study/ 2026-09-16 09:00:00 +0000 An impact fee charges new development for the drainage capacity it needs. The study has six steps, and the credit for existing debt is the argued one. https://scupper.top/notes/2026-09-02-fee-vs-tax-funded/ https://scupper.top/notes/2026-09-02-fee-vs-tax-funded/ 2026-09-02 09:00:00 +0000 The same drainage programme can be paid for from a utility fee or from the general fund. The revenue is the same; the distribution of who pays is not. https://scupper.top/notes/2026-08-19-what-a-green-roof-credit-actually-offsets/ https://scupper.top/notes/2026-08-19-what-a-green-roof-credit-actually-offsets/ 2026-08-19 09:00:00 +0000 A green roof credit is priced from the storage the roof provides. On one site the credit covered a fifth of the storage cost and a seventh of the bill. https://scupper.top/notes/2026-08-07-the-reserve-that-was-not-there/ https://scupper.top/notes/2026-08-07-the-reserve-that-was-not-there/ 2026-08-07 09:00:00 +0000 A utility replaced a failing outfall from its operating budget because it had no reserve. The interest on the borrowing that followed was the price. https://scupper.top/notes/2026-07-23-two-costs-for-one-pipe/ https://scupper.top/notes/2026-07-23-two-costs-for-one-pipe/ 2026-07-23 09:00:00 +0000 The same pipe renewal was priced by two methods. One used unit rates from a schedule; the other used a condition-based estimate. The two differed by a third. https://scupper.top/notes/2026-07-09-flood-damage-cost-per-property/ https://scupper.top/notes/2026-07-09-flood-damage-cost-per-property/ 2026-07-09 09:00:00 +0000 Flood damage is valued from depth-damage curves applied to building type. The figure that comes out is real, and it excludes the costs hardest to bear. https://scupper.top/notes/2026-06-25-when-a-grant-changes-the-ranking/ https://scupper.top/notes/2026-06-25-when-a-grant-changes-the-ranking/ 2026-06-25 09:00:00 +0000 A grant that covers new construction and not renewal pulled a capital programme toward new work. The same list ranked differently once the funding was attached.