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 community sustainability, customer experience and satisfaction, enterprise resiliency, financial viability, infrastructure strategy and performance, operational optimization, reliability and regulatory requirements, stakeholder understanding and support, water resource sustainability, and workforce development. These are the ten Attributes of Effectively Managed Utilities identified in 2007 by a blue ribbon panel of water and wastewater utility executives and revised in the 2024 Effective Utility Management: A Primer for Water Sector Utilities.
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
San Antonio Water System
2010 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
San Antonio Water System’s 50-year Water Management Plan identifies water supply projects to provide reliable service as the community continues to grow. Its strategy includes setting precedents in conservation, recycling, water management and water quality programs. The utility has taken significant steps to optimize operations, upgrade and maintain infrastructure, and ensure that it is prepared to continue operations after any crisis. It strives to ensure that customers are satisfied with the quality of their water and that its staff is available to quickly handle any concerns. Recognizing that stakeholder support is essential, the utility communicates with ratepayers in a wide variety of venues to facilitate cooperation and understanding.
San Diego County Water Authority
2010 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
San Diego County Water Authority’s key strategy to enhance water reliability is to diversify its water supply portfolio. Bay-Delta pumping restrictions, along with three years of drought, led to reduced allocations from the Authority’s largest supplier. Supply reliability highlights include finishing major construction on the All-American Canal Lining Project, commencing construction on the San Vicente Dam Raise Project and supporting the development of additional local supplies, including desalination. The Authority’s Drought Management Plan outlined actions including aggressively promoting increased conservation and implementing a model set of water use restrictions to meet mandatory water savings targets.
Western Virginia Water Authorit
2010 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
The Western Virginia Water Authority is an example of the benefits of a regional entity to manage water and wastewater needs in a multi-jurisdictional area. By combining resources and gaining synergies for water supply and distribution, the Authority focuses on the management of assets, replacement or rehabilitation of failing water lines, reduction of water loss and operational expenses. Guided by a rate equalization plan that supports infrastructure maintenance and the creation of reserve funds, the Authority provides adequate funding for capital expenditures. Since it spans localities, multiple water resources can be managed in a manner that reduces the impact of droughts or other emergencies.
City of Riverside Public Utilities Department
2009 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
The City of Riverside Public Utilities Department (RPU) has developed strong local partnerships that create new opportunities in water supply, conservation and watershed management while maximizing regional efficiencies. Stakeholder support keeps RPU on track to becoming “green.” Innovative projects have effectively isolated the utility from the ongoing statewide water crisis, and its recycled water project is expected to produce high quality irrigation water to meet nearly one-third of the system’s total water demand. The city has also implemented an asset management program, which significantly reduces unaccounted for water.
City of San Diego Public Utilities Department
2009 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Through programs such as Bid to Goal, the City of San Diego Public Utilities Department continually pursues initiatives that drive optimum performance and improve labor-management relationships by encouraging all employees to work together to achieve shared goals. Environmental stewardship is valued, as evidenced by innovations that both preserve and restore the environment. Product quality is assured through practices and procedures resulting in ISO 14001 certifications in all four of its operations divisions. Consolidation of the business support divisions during FY09 resulted in staff reductions saving $2.7 million, and net savings throughout the water system between 1998 and 2008 totaled $161 million.
Glendale Water and Power
2009 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Glendale Water and Power’s proactive approach to water quality allows the utility to meet all standards, minimize chemical use and safeguard employee health. The utility evaluates best practices in asset management and uses employee and plant performance measurements to focus resources. Three-year rate increases promote financial integrity, and a $50 million bond issue is funding projects including system-wide meter replacement and advanced metering infrastructure installation. Glendale is also completing a six-year effort to upgrade electrical and mechanical components and has contracted services to geo-locate and remotely operate each valve and fire hydrant in its system.
City of Salem Public Works Department
2008 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
The City of Salem Public Works Department flattened its rate slope and implemented a cycle of two-year rate increases to ease the financial impacts on customers through efforts to trim and delay capital projects and invest in high priority projects that significantly influence the system’s efficiency. The Oregon utility reduced per capita demand through an aggressive water conservation campaign and postponed the need for further expansion of water treatment and delivery systems.
Fairfax Water
2008 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Fairfax Water provides water to one out of every five Virginians using public water. Through the use of ozonation and activated carbon filters, as well as other treatment practices, its water quality consistently surpasses all federal standards. The utility’s strategic planning process not only guarantees an active working document, but also insures a legacy of adequate water resources, financial soundness and environmental stability for the next generation.
Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority
2008 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority has successfully implemented projects to improve water and effluent quality, enhance customer service, improve operational efficiency, produce quantifiable results, foster employee and community involvement, increase cost-effectiveness and support environmental stewardship. The utility became the first in the nation to privatize a U.S. Navy water system when Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast awarded a contract to operate and maintain six water systems at Naval Air Station Key West.
Prince William County Service Authority
2008 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Cooperation and teamwork have become standard practice at the Prince William County Service Authority in Virginia, where the focus of business is on customers and meeting their needs. The utility’s staff has significantly improved its use of data to track progress and find opportunities for improvement. This advanced all areas of the Authority’s business, including product quality, risk management, operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority
2007 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority built two water reclamation facilities and one high quality water treatment plant in recent years, all brought online on time and within budget. The utility recently celebrated one million hours without a lost-time work accident, and its dedication to safety has overflowed to all areas of operations. Employee participation in design teams on safety, employee morale, warehouse operations, GIS and human resources all contributed to the success of its competitiveness programs.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities
2007 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
In 1996, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities became the first public utility to compete with the private sector and successfully win the bid for operations and maintenance of one of its water treatment plants and one of its wastewater treatment plants. To encourage and acknowledge the employee commitment and creativity that is required for successful competition and optimization, the utility has a gainsharing policy that in recent years netted the utility’s ratepayers an estimated $7 million in cost reduction.