Financial instruments	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Financial instruments
Financial instruments	18. Financial instruments Credit risk: The Company is not exposed to significant credit risk on its retail customer accounts as its policy is to cease supply of water to customers’ accounts that are more than 45 days overdue. The Company’s exposure to credit risk is concentrated on receivables from its bulk water, services, and manufacturing customers. The Company considers these receivables fully collectible and therefore has not recorded a material allowance for these receivables. Interest rate risk: The Company is not subject to significant interest rate risk arising from fluctuations in interest rates. Foreign exchange risk: All relevant foreign currencies other than the Mexican peso and the euro have been fixed to the dollar for more than 20 years and as a result, the Company does not employ a hedging strategy against exchange rate risk associated with the reporting in dollars. If any of these fixed exchange rates becomes a floating exchange rate or if any of the foreign currencies in which the Company conducts business depreciate significantly against the dollar, the Company’s consolidated results of operations could be adversely affected. Fair values: As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the carrying amounts of cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued expenses, accrued compensation, dividends payable and other current liabilities approximate their fair values due to the short-term maturities of these instruments. Under US GAAP, fair value is defined as the exit price, or the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants as of the measurement date. US GAAP guidance also establishes a hierarchy for inputs used in measuring fair value that maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs by requiring that the most observable inputs be used when available. Observable inputs are inputs market participants would use in valuing the asset or liability and are developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Company. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the Company’s assumptions about the factors market participants would use in valuing the asset or liability. The guidance establishes three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value: Level 1 - Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. Level 2 - Inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities. Level 3 - Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities. Assets and liabilities are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurements. The Company reviews its fair value hierarchy classifications on a quarterly basis. Changes in the observability of valuation inputs may result in a reclassification of levels for certain securities within the fair value hierarchy. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company does not have assets and liabilities measured at fair value to present in the fair value hierarchy.

Financial instruments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

18. Financial instruments

Credit risk:

The Company is not exposed to significant credit risk on its retail customer accounts as its policy is to cease supply of water to customers’ accounts that are more than 45 days overdue. The Company’s exposure to credit risk is concentrated on receivables from its bulk water, services, and manufacturing customers. The Company considers these receivables fully collectible and therefore has not recorded a material allowance for these receivables.

Interest rate risk:

The Company is not subject to significant interest rate risk arising from fluctuations in interest rates.

Foreign exchange risk:

All relevant foreign currencies other than the Mexican peso and the euro have been fixed to the dollar for more than 20 years and as a result, the Company does not employ a hedging strategy against exchange rate risk associated with the reporting in dollars. If any of these fixed exchange rates becomes a floating exchange rate or if any of the foreign currencies in which the Company conducts business depreciate significantly against the dollar, the Company’s consolidated results of operations could be adversely affected.

Fair values:

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the carrying amounts of cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued expenses, accrued compensation, dividends payable and other current liabilities approximate their fair values due to the short-term maturities of these instruments.

Under US GAAP, fair value is defined as the exit price, or the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants as of the measurement date. US GAAP guidance also establishes a hierarchy for inputs used in measuring fair value that maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs by requiring that the most observable inputs be used when available. Observable inputs are inputs market participants would use in valuing the asset or liability and are developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Company. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the Company’s assumptions about the factors market participants would use in valuing the asset or liability. The guidance establishes three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:

Level 1 - Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2 - Inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

Level 3 - Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

Assets and liabilities are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurements. The Company reviews its fair value hierarchy classifications on a quarterly basis. Changes in the observability of valuation inputs may result in a reclassification of levels for certain securities within the fair value hierarchy.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company does not have assets and liabilities measured at fair value to present in the fair value hierarchy.