Award Winners
Memphis Light Gas & Water Division
2001 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Memphis Light Gas & Water Division (MLGW)
- Serves over 900,000 people.
- Ten water treatment plants and a 3,400-mile distribution system.
Broward County Office of Environmental Services
2001 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Broward County Office of Environmental Services (OES)
- Service area includes 58,000 accounts and serves a population of 263,000.
- Combined treatment capacity of 53mgd.
- Staffed with 380 full-time employees.
- Current operating budget excluding debt service is $59,785,820.
Chesterfield Utilities
2001 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Chesterfield Utilities, Virginia
- Service population of 260,321.
- Budget for fiscal year 2001 was $53,382,900.
- Employs 250 people.
- Controls 20 water storage tanks and 30 pump stations, and manages more than 2,900 miles of water and wastewater lines.
- Operates a 12 mgd water treatment plant and purchases water from the City of Richmond and the Appomattox River Water Authority.
City of Columbus Division of Water
2001 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
City of Columbus Division of Water, Ohio
Achievement Highlights:
Aware of the growing competitive challenge within the water utility environment, the Division followed a proactive course to ascertain its competitive position:
Eighty-four employees representing all sections of the Division participated in a two-day "Thinking, Getting & Staying Competitive" workshop which resulted in a total of 245 individual recommendations to increase competitiveness.
Employees concluded that existing practices placed the Division at a competitive disadvantage of approximately $15 million per year.
To close the gap, the Division eliminated all uneconomical take-home vehicles; began work on several classification merge projects; combined similar work sections, monitored electrical usage through bill review and demand monitoring equipment; and reviewed and amended the purchasing process.
Future goals include a thorough study of and reduction in overtime, and continued progress in organizational restructuring and process improvement.
Columbus Water Works
2001 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Columbus Water Works (CWW), Georgia
- Provides water and wastewater treatment services to a population of about 250,000 in the 221 square mile Columbus service area and via wholesale accounts.
- 205 full-time employees.
- Source of water is the Chattahoochee River.
- Operates a water treatment facility rated at 90 mgd.
- Annual budget is $34.7 million of which $20 million is for operation and improvement of the system and $14 million is to retire debt.
Contra Costa Water District
2001 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Contra Costa Water District, California
- Provides water to approximately 430,000 people in Contra Costa County.
- Over $1.05 billion in assets, including a 100,000 acre foot reservoir, two regional water treatment facilities with a combined capacity of 115 mgd and a 1,000 miles of distribution piping and facilities.
- 320 employees.
- Annual budget of $169.9 million.
Boston Water and Sewer Commission
2001 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Boston Water and Sewer Commission
- 550 employees.
- Serves a daily population of approximately 1 million.
- Maintains a 1,096-mile water distribution system.
- Total annual budget is approximately $211 million.
- Moody's Investor Services: AA3
- Standard and Poor's: AA-
- Fitch: AA-
Kansas City Water Services Department
2001 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Kansas City, Missouri Water Services Department (WSD)
- 240 mgd water supply capacity with 2,300 miles of water mains.
- Service population is over 600,000 within the Kansas City metropolitan area.
- Annual budget is $166 million.
- Employment of 970 associates.
Portland Bureau of Water Works
2001 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Portland Bureau of Water Works, Oregon
- Provides water to nearly 800,000 (450,000 of whom are Portland residents; the balance of 350,000 are served via wholesale contractors).
- Two water sources---a surface system and a groundwater system.
- 545 employees and an annual fund budget of $145 million.
Tacoma Water
2001 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Tacoma Water stands ready to meet unexpected and expected changes in the economy, the climate, competition and regulation. The utility's primary resource is its staff of committed employees who are trained to think strategically, to use current process improvement tools, to innovate and to respond quickly to meet utility needs and exceed customer expectations. Employee teams can be assembled quickly to address issues and produce workable, cost-effective and timely solutions. One long-standing team, for example, identifies infrastructure replacement needs. Another more recent team has produced thoughtful recommendations to address a more immediate challenge, a budget shortfall resulting from a drought in the Northwest and the related downturn in business activity. Tacoma Water's new business plan and continuing progress on its second regional water supply project also add to the utility's ability to remain competitive. Tacoma Water is proud of its role as a leader in the community, the region and the water utility industry.
Tampa Water Department
2001 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
The Tampa Water Department serves a customer population of almost 500,000 through 120,000 connections in a 211 square mile service area. Its primary water resource is the Hillsborough River Reservoir Basin located adjacent to the historic Hillsborough River Water Treatment Plant and Dam. Tampa Water is proud of the department's tradition of innovation and continuous improvement with the simultaneous objectives of delivering unquestionable water quality, sound financial performance and customer satisfaction that is considered "best in class" for the industry. Beginning in 1996 with a comprehensive competitive assessment and a strategic re-evaluation of the objectives of the department's Water Quality Master Plan, Tampa Water launched its Water Quality 2000 initiative in the Production Operations Division. This initiative included re-engineering O&M processes and a series of facility upgrades to ensure superior water quality, cost containment and process flexibility and reliability into the 21st century. Workforce reductions (achieved without layoffs) with simultaneous improvement in productivity and job satisfaction were achieved through training, skills based compensation and automation projects. Water quality initiatives include rehabilitation of the existing filter galleries with new under-drains, the addition of air scour, activated carbon filter media and a 20 MGD production augmentation facility employing Actiflo and ozone disinfection technologies.
Tualatin Valley Water District
2001 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Located in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area, Tualatin Valley Water District provides full water service to parts of three cities and unincorporated Washington County. The District is recognized for its competitive service and uses that competitive edge to obtain contracts to provide service to other agencies. In 2000, the City of Sherwood, the fastest growing city in Oregon during the '90s, selected the District to be its water operator and manager. In 2001, the Valley View Water District also selected the District for its O&M. Through a competitive bidding process in 2000 the city of Beaverton, Oregon chose the District to provide meter reading service. Meter reading services were reengineered, and a productivity meter reading pay program was established. Merit based pay for performance is applied to all District employees, who are not rewarded for longevity but for contributions they make to the organization each year. This resulted in a highly skilled workforce with a turnover rate just over 4 percent, with half of that due to retirements. The District's competitive pay program, strong financial position, low employee turnover and low ratio of employees per capita make it highly competitive in the water service industry.