Award Winners
Erie County Water Authority
2005 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
The Erie County Water Authority launched an aggressive program to reorganize and streamline its operations and achieved substantial reductions in operating expenses and increased revenues. Budget savings over the last eight years were derived from investment in more efficient and technologically advanced operations, reduced payroll costs and prudent debt management. This commitment to sound management practices resulted in significant cost savings, an extensive system-wide capital improvement program that is primarily based on a "pay as you go" model and a stabilized rate structure for its customers.
Fort Wayne City Utilities
2005 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
Fort Wayne City Utilities sustained a competitive edge through benchmarking, strategic business planning, listening to its customers, using technology, and improving efficiency and effectiveness. Its business plan was used to drive the allocation of resources and to ensure the achievement of its goals in regulatory compliance, application of technology, stakeholder involvement, asset management and organizational excellence.
Greater Cincinnati Water Works
2005 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
The Greater Cincinnati Water Works utilized the Strategic Business Plan process to provide a blueprint for its competitive efforts. A performance measurement system ensured its focus on the issues identified by customer surveys. Use of technology, such as the conversion of its meter reading to a radio read setup, reduced operational costs and provided improved customer service. Distribution system, water treatment plants and plant process improvements provided an abundant supply of high quality water at a reasonable cost and positioned Cincinnati to expand services and further spread costs.
Kansas City Water Services Department
2005 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
The Kansas City Water Services Department's 10-year competitive business plan includes performance targets and action items to upgrade infrastructure and facilities, improve service levels and minimize annual operating costs. The plan aims to reduce response and repair time to main breaks while increasing the performance of more preventative maintenance and doubling the amount of capital projects the Engineering Services Divisions oversees.
Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department
2005 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
To improve services, the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department implemented an Efficiency Business Plan with benchmarks, staffing plans and 120 opportunities for improvements. The utility worked towards improvements by empowering employees to submit new ideas, implementing efficiency projects, providing financial incentives to employees for documented efficiency savings, and investing in employees through a comprehensive training program, competitive salary adjustments and a bonus incentive program. These initiatives proved successful as the utility's water and sewer rates are among the lowest in the country. In a resident satisfaction survey, 87 percent of Miami-Dade customers rated services as good to excellent.
Nashville Metro Water Services
2005 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
With a goal of continuous improvement, Nashville's Metro Water Services began a government-wide strategic planning and performance measurement initiative called Results Matter. The utility introduced new technology such as GIS, automated meter reading and an engineering document management system, and implemented a mobile dispatch, all of which led to improvements in customer and employee satisfaction, productivity and cost.
Northern Kentucky Water District
2005 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Responding to the findings of a benchmarking study, Northern Kentucky Water District increased automation, improved its performance appraisal system and provided more employee empowerment. The recent acquisition of two water systems allowed the District to add to its customer base while realizing operational efficiencies that keep water rates low. Through systematic infrastructure replacement and rehabilitation, guided by an asset management plan, the District balanced needs with practical financial limitations.
Orange County Utilities Water Division
2005 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
Technological and organizational strategies helped the Orange County Utilities Water Division maintain its competitive edge. Major technological accomplishments included a state-of-the-art laboratory, a SCADA room that is fully operational 24/7, and Maximo, the wireless Computer Maintenance Management System that has allowed field staff to process work orders more efficiently. The Florida utility increased security at its facilities, expanded water conservation programs and completed conversion from gaseous chlorine to hypochlorite.
Portland Water District
2005 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
The Portland Water District measures its success through customer satisfaction. The District reduced water rates in 1999 and 2000, and since then rates have remained stable. Early on, the District understood it needed to take charge of an evolving industry and aging workforce by becoming a leader in water and wastewater training. A state-of-the-art development center was constructed, and partnerships were formed to conduct quality workforce development programs. Communication with both internal and external customers has been a high priority.
Tampa Water Department
2005 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
The Tampa Water Department focused on continuous organizational improvement using the Networked Talent Model and process improvement teams. Training is targeted in leadership, management, team and task skills for employees at all levels. Performance indicators were developed and benchmarked against industry leaders. Results from these comparative analyses were integrated back into the strategic and tactical planning processes and immediately incorporated when applicable. Technology is a strong part of existing and planned programs, including GIS, asset management, process improvements and data management.
Utilities Department of the City of North Las Vegas
2005 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Employees at the newly created Utilities Department of the City of North Las Vegas improved work processes through initiatives such as converting to a new utility software system, establishing a call center for customer convenience, annual infrastructure improvements based upon maintenance surveys, and a new approval process for engineering plans. Leadership, awards and regular staff involvement have encouraged employees to find creative ways to improve the department.
Anchorage Water & Wastewater Utility
2004 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
Since receiving the AMWA Gold Award for Competitiveness Achievement in 2001, Anchorage Water & Wastewater Utility (AWWU) has continued to stabilize expenses and increase revenues, efficiency, customer service and quality in a competitiveness process of continuous improvement designed and driven by AWWU employees. As a result of major technology initiatives, systems integration and numerous other improvements, customers per employee increased from 375 to 400 and the amount of plant per employee increased from $3.2 million to $3.8 million. During this period of no rate increases, AWWU net income totaled $18.3 million and its water revenue bond rating increased from A to AA minus. What started as an employee steering team has evolved into a combination of formal teams for utility-wide efforts and more informal teams for the division and section levels. All supervisors are now part of the Leaders of Change Group, which is tasked with facilitating continuous improvement at AWWU. A tremendous synergy is occurring and the number of grievances and accidents are at a historical low while employee moral and customer satisfaction are at an all-time high. AWWU is on its way to attaining a lasting culture of employee involvement and continuous improvement.