Award Winners
Santa Clara Valley Water District
2006 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
The Santa Clara Valley Water District organizational vision includes managing for clean water and watersheds, managing environmental impacts, implementing management practices, and measuring efforts to reduce costs and resources without sacrificing quality or reliability.The District adopted the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Program Framework for improving organizational performance and has integrated a four-tier performance measurement dashboard, ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and Green Business certifications.
Santa Rosa Utilities Department
2006 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
The Santa Rosa Utilities Department implemented a Computerized Maintenance and Management System to collect information for use by management in creating realistic goals and measuring the efficiency of its business processes. It also undertook a management and organizational change coaching process to prepare for the technological and work process changes necessary to transition to a 21st century public utility.
Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority
2005 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
In 2003, the Albuquerque Water and Sewer Utility became the multi-jurisdictional Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority. The utility moved forward with multiple initiatives to improve its services, ensure water supply to meet future demand, fulfill increasingly stringent water and wastewater quality requirements, and create a more efficient and effective organization.
Broward County Water and Wastewater Services
2005 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
Broward County Water and Wastewater Services showed its commitment to competitive initiatives in many ways, including a financial plan that called for the cash financing of many renewal and replacement projects at a level equal to annual system depreciation. The budget maintained high quality services for its customers, maximized efficiencies, and continued an aggressive capital improvement program while minimizing rate increases. The utility implemented a long-term capital improvement modernization program for its operating plants and an extensive rebuild program for its neighborhoods and underground structures.
Butler County Department of Environmental Sciences
2005 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
Improvement initiatives at the Butler County Department of Environmental Sciences allowed the utility to successfully control costs, provide high-quality water and sewer service, and exhibit exceptional environmental stewardship through public outreach programs. In recent regionalization initiatives, Butler County joined with four neighboring water and sewer utilities and three municipalities to provide service to County residents, assuring customers of an adequate supply of water and high levels of service at reasonable rates.
Champlain Water District
2005 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
The Champlain Water District has actively supported the public health protection goals of the Partnership For Safe Water (PSW) program and was the first utility in the country to receive the PSW "Excellence in Water Treatment" Award in 1999. It is the only utility in the country to maintain Phase IV standards of excellence and received the Phase IV Five Year Anniversary Award in 2004.
Chandler Municipal Utilities
2005 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Chandler Municipal Utilities went through a self-assessment process, which it incorporated with employee assistance to become a stronger organization, improving its services and employee moral, and repairing its aging infrastructure. Chandler's Municipal Utilities and Public Works Departments were the first in Arizona to achieve accreditation from the American Public Works Association.
Charleston Commissioners of Public Works
2005 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
To achieve its strategic goals, the Charleston Commissioners of Public Works became registered to the ISO 14001 international standard of environmental excellence. The utility has actively participated in research and development activities for the industry, developed comprehensive training programs, and developed a culture of performance-orientation through incentive, merit and associate recognition programs.
City of Henderson Utility Services
2005 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
The City of Henderson Utility Services played a significant role in the City's upgraded bond rating, achieving an exceptional safety record and gaining community support for extensive capital programs to support growth, and continuing to provide value priced products. In the past decade, the utility successfully responded to serious drought and double-digit growth in the community. During this time, it increased rates less than the rate of inflation and maintained customer satisfaction at 90 percent.
City of Norfolk Department of Utilities
2005 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
The City of Norfolk Department of Utilities achieved competitiveness through benchmarking nationally and partnering with 17 localities regionally. The department conducted focus groups for customer feedback, and maintained excellent communication between top leadership and employees. It partnered with two local universities to research better reservoir management and water treatment techniques, and also offers on-site degree programs for employees. In addition, the department conducted planning for hurricanes and other emergencies and participated on technical advisory committees to develop statewide water supply planning regulations.
DeKalb County Water and Sewer Division
2005 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
The DeKalb County Water and Sewer Division used capital improvement plans, key performance indicators and action plans to strengthen its overall performance. The Division paid close attention to communication, the training and development of all staff members, performance measures and community relations to improve performance and move forward.
East Bay Municipal Utility District
2005 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
Many of the accomplishments of the East Bay Municipal Utility District were guided by its strategic plan and included the creation of a new centralized customer contact system, implementation of an ongoing energy management strategy, and the establishment of employee development programs to build supervisory and leadership skills. A new customer contact system improved customer response and tracking for greater efficiency. The energy management strategy resulted in a hydropower revenue increase of over $2 million annually while simultaneously reducing energy purchase costs by nearly $1 million each year.