Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
The Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance recognizes member water systems that exhibit high levels of performance in the areas of product quality, customer satisfaction, employee and leadership development, operational optimization, financial viability, community sustainability, enterprise resiliency, infrastructure strategy and performance, stakeholder understanding and support, and water resource sustainability. These are the ten Attributes of Effectively Managed Utilities identified in 2007 by a blue ribbon panel of water and wastewater utility executives.
Any AMWA member utility that has never won a Gold Award is eligible to apply for the Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance.
- Example Gold Award-Winning Application
Recent Award Winners
Cape Fear Public Utility Authority
2022 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) is a regional leader in water treatment to remove PFAS. This year, CFPUA will bring a new deep-bed Granular Activated Carbon filter technology online at its primary water treatment plant, a $46 million investment to ensure the quality of the water provided to customers. Through CFPUA’s 10-year Capital Improvement Plan totaling $511 million, the utility has a consistent focus on rehabilitation and replacement of aging infrastructure, resulting in significant decreases in sewer and water line breaks. Providing strong customer service is also central to CFPUA initiatives. Between 2017 and 2021, CFPUA implemented an Enterprise Resource Planning solution that improved customers’ ease of doing business, from an online self-service portal to more accurate and efficient meter reading.
The City of Irving Water Utilities Department
2022 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
The City of Irving Water Utilities Department is a regional water leader that tackles water supply issues and expands supply resources. Employing a customer-centric ethic, the utility meets the needs of a growing and diverse community, from improving procedures in water quality sampling to implementing a new customer portal to increase communication. The system has among the lowest rates in the region without compromising infrastructure maintenance and renewal, using Advanced Metering Infrastructure, large meter testing, and a thorough meter replacement plan to ensure accurate billing and asset management. The utility also strengthens the skills of its workforce by facilitating the licensing of water professionals.
Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority
2021 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority is the second largest supplier of drinking water in the state of Georgia. It is one of only a few utilities in the nation that has an organic AAA bond rating from all three major rating agencies and has won multiple awards from the Georgia Association of Water Professionals. Cobb County-Marietta has worked diligently over the last five years to reduce the number of pipeline failures, energy use, and per-capita consumption of water in its service area. Cobb County-Marietta also has a record of zero quality regulatory violations in the 11 years – setting high industry standards.
Rochester Public Utilities
2020 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Rochester Public Utilities (RPU) has no water debt obligations and provides one of the lowest water rates in Minnesota. Its investment in mobile technologies and other efficiencies has resulted in more time spent serving customers. Over the past few years, RPU has collaborated with Rochester Public Works to plan joint replacement projects of aging infrastructure. The capital improvement plan includes the top 20 highest risk score water main sections being replaced in the next five years. As part of its sustainability study with state agencies, RPU protects groundwater sources to ensure long-term supply of drinking water while maintaining its precious natural resources.
DuPage Water Commission
2019 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
DuPage Water Commission has paid off all debt and has fully funded its pension obligations in the period since its founding in 1992. The utility’s assets are in the early stages of their useful life and are proactively maintained. The Commission earned a AAA bond rating, fully funded its five-year capital plan with a budgeted CIP of $30M and established a long-term capital reserve. It created a water conservation and protection program and has participated in over 75 events promoting water sustainability. A three-year operator trainee program was initiated for trades along with a college engineer internship program for engineering students.
Orange County Water District
2019 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Orange County Water District is an international leader in water reuse and groundwater management and is home to the Groundwater Replenishment System – the world’s largest advanced water purification project for potable reuse. The District was the first to use reverse osmosis to purify wastewater to drinking water quality. It created the largest constructed wetlands in the West to help purify Santa Ana River waters and for greater water yield while protecting endangered species. Sound planning and investment, high standards for water reliability, exceptional water quality, environmental stewardship, strong financial management, and transparency are the District’s hallmarks and standards.
City of Ann Arbor Water Utility
2018 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
The City of Ann Arbor Water Utility is committed to delivering exceptional service to its customers, to strategic decision-making and to investment in its staff. Ann Arbor was one of the first utilities in the state of Michigan to implement a conservation-based inclining block rate structure, a forward-thinking approach to rate development that enabled it to apply its sustainability goals to how it charges for its services. The utility was also the first in the state to use ozone as its primary disinfectant. By innovating and partnering with institutions like local universities, Ann Arbor is continually looking for new ways to cost effectively provide outstanding service to its customers.
Cleveland Water
2018 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Cleveland Water monitors and protects the health of its Lake Erie source water by optimizing its four interconnected water treatment plants. The utility has aggressively tackled the issue of water loss by leveraging expanded capital investment, new technologies and data analysis. Investments in upgraded automated meter reading technology have improved service levels and allow more effective communication with customers regarding their water use. Cleveland Water has also invested in technology and training to improve customer service, resulting in measurable improvements to service delivery across its meter operations, billing services, call center and collections operations. Through a combination of smart planning and hard work, the utility has held rates constant for three years.
Greenville Utilities Commission
2018 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Greenville Utilities Commission’s (GUC) mission is to enhance the quality of life for those it serves by safely providing reliable utility solutions at the lowest reasonable cost, with exceptional customer service in an environmentally responsible manner. Strategic plan goals include employee workforce development, financial stability, water supply sustainability, exceptional customer service, water quality and environmental leadership, and infrastructure investment and management. The staff at GUC’s water treatment plant met the goals to earn the Area Wide Optimization Program (AWOP) Award from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality for the past three years. The AWOP requirements are more stringent than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s existing regulations, helping GUC achieve higher levels of water quality.
Baltimore City Department of Public Works
2017 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
The Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) embraces change management, sets smart, achievable goals, and plans for long-term continuous improvement and sustainable change. By utilizing stakeholder values and beliefs, DPW created a strategic plan with measurable objectives and timeframes, built goal teams comprised of employees from all areas of the organization, introduced a performance monitoring and guiding office, and reorganized the utility’s structure to break down silos and facilitate intra-agency communication and workflow. Empowering front-line staff was essential to meeting customer expectations for clean water, a clean city and effective access to DPW services.
Great Lakes Water Authority
2017 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Since its standup in 2016, Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) has achieved continual provision of water of unquestionable quality and efficient sewer services; two upgrades of its bond ratings; and execution of an inaugural $1.3 billion bond sale. GLWA also launched a program to provide qualifying households with help in paying current and past-due bills. It inaugurated an Apprenticeship Program for Electrical Instrumentation Control Technicians and created a leadership-training academy to build employees’ leadership skills. The Authority developed an asset management governance structure and continued focus on its environmental impact with the operation of its new Biosolids Dryer Facility.
Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust
2017 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
The Oklahoma City Utilities Department and Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust strive to meet the city’s growth by securing surface water rights through a groundbreaking water rights agreement. The department develops leadership opportunities for employees across all divisions by encouraging safe workforce practices, accountability and customer service. Its Standard and Poor’s (AAA) and Moody’s (Aaa) bond ratings were reaffirmed in 2015, and strong financial principles place it in the top 5.5 percent of water utilities nationwide. A strategic business plan helps it weigh community needs against available capital and personnel resources with 59 key strategies to continually monitor progress and make improvements.