Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
Like the Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance, the criteria for the Platinum Award for Utility Excellence are based on the Ten Attributes of Effective Utility Management and the Keys to Management Success. Applicants are expected to show progress in implementing the attributes and keys, as well as a distinctive level of management expertise and expanded utility achievement.
Three years after winning a Gold Award, member utilities are eligible to apply for the Platinum Award for Utility Excellence.
Recent Award Winners
Mesa Water
2016 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
To conserve finite resources, Mesa Water decreased its dependence on non-renewable groundwater supplies from over 70 percent in 1984, to around 10 percent today. The utility recharges approximately 8,000 acre-feet of effluent a year and achieves close to 100 percent reuse of reclaimed water. Its technology initiatives include Cityworks computerized maintenance management software and asset management system, and its mobile dispatch utilizes geolocation to ensure responsive dispatch to emergencies and complaints. Mesa Water maintains an Aa2 bond rating from Moody’s and developed a 20-year forecast model to anticipate revenues and expenses and prepare reserves for smoothing potential future rate increases.
Phoenix Water
2016 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
Phoenix Water’s executive management team gathered supervisors, managers and field employees into cross-divisional teams based on the Attributes of Effective Utility Management to develop goals to drive and measure performance. Progress was reported over 40 targets. For example, the percentage of calls answered within two minutes went from a low of around 30 percent a year ago, to 98 percent today. To prevent the catastrophic failure of pre-stressed concrete cylinder transmission pipelines, the utility set a goal of inspecting 32 miles of critical water mains in three years. It is currently poised to complete a cumulative total of over 55 miles of inspections.
San Antonio Water System
2016 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
San Antonio Water System (SAWS) integrated infrastructure, employees and rates by combining with a large utility, BexarMet. This multi-year process demonstrated the ability to merge the assets, liabilities, rights, duties and obligations of a substandard utility with the high expectations of SAWS while successfully providing seamless service to customers. The utility constantly forecasts with sophisticated models to anticipate conditions affecting revenue, such as climate, population growth and supply. Strategies include refinancing debt, reducing O&M expenditures, developing alternative water supplies, and increasing education and outreach to support conservation. With more than 11,000 miles of pipe, condition and repair is consistently monitored and tracked.
Suffolk County Water Authority
2016 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
Suffolk County Water Authority’s Strategic Plan 2025 incorporates mobile workforce technology, development of a 24-hour customer service operation, development of new treatment methods for emerging contaminants, creation of an Employee Development Center to foster employee growth and substantial infrastructure investment. The utility organized the Long Island Commission for Aquifer Protection to preserve the aquifer that provides all of Long Island’s drinking water. It also expanded testing to 398 chemicals – 249 more than required by regulators. Its environmentally friendly vehicle fleet and infrastructure include 26 compressed natural gas-fueled vehicles and a compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station. Construction on a CNG-compliant repair facility is underway.
Tacoma Water
2016 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
Tacoma Water has made significant progress in becoming a more effective organization through planning, analysis and developing strong stakeholder relationships. Understanding risk through data and analysis is an important dimension of the enhanced planning and decision making at Tacoma Water, which will position it well to adapt to future conditions and opportunities. The utility’s main accomplishments include: strategic planning and use of balanced scorecard to measure execution; completion of construction and startup of its filtration plant; significant natural resource enhancements and habitat work in the Green River Watershed; GIS implementation; asset management program development; and adoption of a decision-making framework for budget development.
Anchorage Water & Wastewater Utility
2015 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
Anchorage Water & Wastewater Utility embraces continuous improvement. New metrics enhance its management toolbox – quantifying pipeline break statistics, equipment performance, employee engagement and customer satisfaction. The utility tracks employee suggestions, public concerns, capital investment decisions and other actions to maintain public accountability and transparency. Staff development is promoted throughout the utility. Reliable infrastructure, responsible finances and professional service promote public health and protect the environment.
Aurora Water
2015 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
Aurora Water strives for excellence through development of an integrated water master plan, key divisional reorganizations, a new compensation model and extensive performance metrics. Two of its treatment facilities earned Phase IV Excellence in Water designations from the Partnership for Safe Drinking Water. Aurora Water’s potable reuse system provides the foundation for the first regional water-sharing partnerships of its kind. Its energy master plan outlines clear-cut goals to guarantee it is conducting business responsibly.
Boston Water and Sewer Commission
2015 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
Boston Water and Sewer Commission’s asset management approach, combined with an active leak detection and flushing program, dramatically reduced water pipe failures and produced a drop in unbilled water from 48 percent to 14 percent. Installation of automatic meter readers increased customer satisfaction and allowed for billing based on actual usage. Programs are in place to assist ratepayers when an emergency occurs with their personal sewer or water line. IT infrastructure improvement is ongoing to become more proactive and limit costs to ratepayers.
Denver Water
2015 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
Denver Water is becoming a “Lean” organization, and process improvements made by employees have resulted in over $5 million of savings. Operating costs are trending down, the total number of injuries has dropped 26 percent and unplanned customer-outage hours have decreased 32 percent. It helped initiate collaboration among Colorado River stakeholders and has a scenario approach to water supply planning, capital budgeting and long-range financial planning. The utility is redeveloping its operating campus to increase efficiency, provide better customer service, and create an attractive workplace. For emergency planning it has completed a fully redundant disaster-recovery facility and disaster-specific plans.
East Bay Municipal Utility District
2015 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
The East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) has completed a $482 million project to deliver supplemental water supplies, greatly improving resiliency. Its Business Continuity Program minimizes disruptions of critical business functions and enhances its capability to recover operations expediently following an event that causes business interruptions. The program includes preparing plans, conducting training and exercises, completing mitigation activities and performing outreach efforts. EBMUD proactively replaces pipelines to maintain high reliability and customer service. Its replacement rate will double from 7.5 miles per year to 15 miles in FY 2016 and will continue to increase to about 40 miles per year in 2025-2035.
Las Vegas Valley Water District
2015 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
In the past decade, the Las Vegas Valley Water District’s economic environment provided a catalyst for change and organizational redirection. Focus shifted from capital projects to keep up with demand to an emphasis on operations and maintenance. Investments were made to maintain the existing water delivery system, rather than expand it. The District became leaner and more efficient. A company-wide strategic planning effort led to process changes that provide for a more effective organization.
Scottsdale Water
2015 Platinum Award for Utility Excellence
Prior to the early 1980s, Scottsdale Water relied 100 percent on groundwater for its drinking water supplies. Today, through strategic planning, innovation and community support, it has a diverse water portfolio with approximately 90 percent of its drinking water coming from renewable surface water supplies. The utility operates sophisticated indirect potable reuse facilities and recharges an average of 1.4 billion gallons of purified recycled water into the aquifer annually – pumping less groundwater out of the aquifer than it recharges back in since 2006.