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
Spartanburg Water System
2001 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Spartanburg Water System
- Provides direct service to a population of approximately 110,000, and supplies water to nine wholesale customers serving a secondary population of approximately 73,000.
- Operates three surface water reservoirs and two treatment facilities with a combined capacity of 79 mgd.
- 188 employees and an annual budget of approximately $22 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.
Topeka Water
2001 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Topeka Water
- System includes a 63 mgd treatment plant, an 800-mile distribution system, 10 towers and reservoirs and nine pump stations.
- Service population is 51,000 connections serving approximately 165,000 customers.
- Employees number 108 and the annual budget is $18 million.
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.
Tucson Water Department
2001 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
The competitiveness achievement highlights of the Tucson Water Department include its Business Office Call Center, where staffing patterns are adjusted to most responsively handle customer calls, and 80 percent of the calls are answered in 20 seconds with less than a three percent drop rate. In addition, collapsed classifications and broad-banded skills in the department's Meter Service allow it to provide more efficient use of staff. Tucson Water evaluated Automatic Meter Reading technology and made routing and program changes to produce an efficiency increase of about 25 percent. The Maintenance Management Program is currently in a multi-year program to reengineer maintenance procedures in all areas of the department. This will involve reorganization, reclassification of positions, broad-banding of positions and a new maintenance computer system. A Reengineering Steering Committee was created of employees from throughout the department elected by their peers. The Committee coordinates multiple improvement projects, including a new job-shadowing/mentoring program to provide employees with new work/career experiences. A revolutionary water quality information system provides near real-time, neighborhood-based water quality information over the Tucson Water web site. The utility's financial system reflects information-based systems, customer and policy-driven rate structures, and the integration of short- and long-range plans and budgets.
Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission
2001 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) was created in 1918 by the State of Maryland to serve a 1,000 square mile bi-county area just outside Washington, D.C. For the first time in the Commission's 83-year history, it has a multi-year fiscal plan and a multi-year Blueprint for Change implementation plan which follow three parallel tracts: business strategies, cultural change and individual employee growth and development. WSSC received AAA bond ratings from all three investor agencies. Employee-led work teams have identified and implemented best practices in plants and maintenance to include flexible workforce, staffing for the baseload, importing in crisis, program driven maintenance, unstaffed operations, consolidated laboratory services, wireless access to information and incentive plans.