Sustainable Water Utility Management Award
AMWA’s Sustainable Water Utility Management Award, introduced in 2014, recognizes member utilities that have made a commitment to sustainable management. There are many opportunities available to water utilities to manage sustainably; each water system has its own water resource needs, infrastructure issues, financial position, political issues, energy costs, and other challenges.
This award views sustainability through a triple bottom line lens. Winners will have achieved a balance of innovative and successful efforts in areas of economic, social, and environmental endeavors, such as responsible management of resources, protection of public health, meeting responsibilities to the community, and providing cost-effective services to ratepayers.
The Sustainability Award is the third step in AMWA’s awards programs and is the only one of these awards that can be earned more than once. Member utilities can apply for their first Sustainability Award three years or more after winning a Platinum Award. After winning a Sustainability Award, they are eligible to apply for the award again when three years or more have elapsed.
Recent Award Winners
San Antonio Water System
2022 Sustainable Water Utility Management Award
San Antonio Water System (SAWS) has continued to make strides in fiscal management, environmental stewardship, and social responsibility since winning its first sustainable award in 2019. In April 2020, SAWS started receiving 50,000 acre-feet per year of water from the Vista Ridge Project. The benefits include decreased reliance on the Edwards Aquifer from 66 percent in 2019 to 51 percent of total water supply in 2022; improved Edwards Aquifer spring flows and endangered species habitats; and increased resilience to any climate-related adverse impacts to water sources. SAWS also kept rates affordable for its constituents during the pandemic and in response to 2021 Winter Storm Uri led a drive raising over $1.1 million dollars to help provide repairs to over 1,100 low-income households.
Fort Worth Water
2022 Sustainable Water Utility Management Award
Fort Worth Water demonstrates its commitment to effective utility management and sustainability in several areas. Of note, the utility established a career pipeline, P-TECH, with a local school district and college to enable high school students to graduate with water and trade certifications and associate’s degrees. The utility also revamped its leak detection efforts to reduce actual loss, avoided rate increases in three of the past four years because of customer growth and more accurate metering, and eliminated all known city-side lead service lines from the system. A new biosolids facility replaces belt presses with a drum dryer to create a pelletized product having 90 percent of the water content removed, with an anticipated 40 percent reduction in operating costs and savings of almost $2 million annually.
Fort Wayne City Utilities
2022 Sustainable Water Utility Management Award
Fort Wayne City Utilities is a second-time sustainable award winner. Since receiving its first award in 2019, the utility has continued to demonstrate an immense commitment to protecting and responsibly using natural, financial, and human resources. Fort Wayne City Utilities is currently designing a state-of-the-art Microgrid Solutions to help the utility better utilize existing generation assets, improve electrical demand profile, increase resiliency to utility outages, and allow for easy implementation of renewable generation resources. By 2023, the utility will have installed 5 megawatts (MW) solar array that will float on its wet weather ponds, energy storage batteries, and an additional 4.5 MW of NG driven generation.
Coachella Valley Water District
2022 Sustainable Water Utility Management Award
Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) is a first-time sustainable award winner. The district demonstrates its commitment to sustainability in water supply, operations, disadvantaged communities, and customer programs. CVWD has invested in and implemented large water importation projects to replenish extracted groundwater. The utility also uses recycled water for landscape irrigation. CVWD also founded a Disadvantaged Communities Infrastructure Task Force, which plans, coordinates, and identifies opportunities for water and sewer infrastructure projects in disadvantaged communities; identifies funding opportunities; reports on progress; and discusses potential barriers to help disadvantaged communities receive grant funding for infrastructure projects.
Knoxville Utilities Board
2021 Sustainable Water Utility Management Award
Knoxville Utilities Board is the first-time winner of the Sustainable Water Utility Management Award. Knoxville Utilities Board makes the right investments in its utility systems and develops and promotes environmentally sustainable initiatives within its operations and through its programs. The utility participates in Green Invest, the City of Knoxville Mayor’s Climate Council, and the Water Quality Forum to continuously improve its commitment to environmental stewardship and protection of local water sources. KUB’s sound financial structure and management ensure al sustainability initiatives are well-funded and balanced annually.
Denver Water
2021 Sustainable Water Utility Management Award
Denver Water is a second time sustainable award winner. The utility strives to improve operations and protect its surrounding ecosystems and communities. The utility has formal goals to reduce carbon emissions, improve energy use to maintain net-energy neutrality, expand renewable energy resources, and improve green infrastructure. Denver Water has undertaken one of the largest public health initiatives in its history, a 15-year planned effort to replace 64,000 to 84,000 decades-old lead service lines owned by its customers. The utility also partners with government agencies to maintain and improve the burned areas of priority watersheds, including planting more than a million trees.
Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority
2020 Sustainable Water Utility Management Award
Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority created a reliable, sustainable, and affordable water supply in southwest Florida and provides the infrastructure for business development and economic growth. Through partnerships the Authority invested in alternative water supply (AWS) and interconnecting the major water supply systems. The utility is a model in AWS development, implementing surface water storage by off-stream reservoirs and aquifer storage and recovery systems. Limiting water withdrawal to occur only during high flow periods provides the sustainability of the downstream estuary and Charlotte Harbor while meeting demands for public water supply.
South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority
2020 Sustainable Water Utility Management Award
South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority (RWA) is focused on the long-term economic viability of its company, resources, and region. Periodic studies ensure its rates reflect the true cost of water and remain affordable. Internally generated funds finance the capital program and increase discretionary reserves. To preserve and protect the natural environment, RWA has robust land and water management programs, has reduced its energy use using renewable energy sources, and diverts hundreds of tons of treatment residuals from landfill disposal. Its education program provides free, hands-on programs to local schools, and its recreation program provides access to nine recreation areas.
KC Water
2020 Sustainable Water Utility Management Award
KC Water implements sustainable management using green infrastructure solutions whenever possible as part of a 25-year, $5 billion program to mitigate adverse effects of its combined sewer system. The utility’s aggressive asset management program minimizes the cost and maximizes the benefit of infrastructure investments. KC Water relies on climate studies and other research to drive planning and execution of short-term operations and maintenance and long-term capital improvement programs, serving both immediate needs and generational impact. These initiatives have also saved treatment costs, delayed or avoided additional water and wastewater treatment expansion, and minimized risks to the water supply.
New York City Department of Environmental Protection
2020 Sustainable Water Utility Management Award
New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) achieved progress in a broad range of sustainability-related factors, including: receiving a 10-year filtration avoidance determination for drinking water from the EPA in 2017, building the largest green infrastructure program in the country with over 10,000 assets spread across the city, achieving Envision and LEED certifications for multiple projects, and launching innovative and impactful rate payer assistance programs. DEP approaches these achievements with triple bottom line thinking that assesses and seeks to maximize the utility’s priorities of protecting health and the environment, supporting its constituents and communities, and benefitting the economy.
El Paso Water
2020 Sustainable Water Utility Management Award
The El Paso Water (EPWater) strategic plan objectives include strengthening financial viability, improving land and water management, increasing innovative solutions, and strengthening stakeholder partnerships. Its financial management is consistently recognized for its bond ratings, debt service, audits, budgets, and pricing structures. EPWater has developed aquifer storage and recovery, desalination, and future advanced water purification and importation projects, which contribute to a diversified water portfolio. Investments in flood control, water conservation, and open space preservation make EPWater a leader in environmental stewardship. The utility engages the community through payment assistance programs to help low-income seniors and low-income families financially impacted by COVID-19.
Greenville Water
2020 Sustainable Water Utility Management Award
Greenville Water had the foresight to purchase watersheds in a high rainfall area, construct dams to develop reservoirs at favorable hydraulic gradients, and limit the access to its watersheds, ensuring a sustainable water supply for the next 100 years. The utility maintains a AAA financial rating from all three major rating agencies and a financial plan that supports daily operational needs and meets required debt services. Its asset management program promotes the continuous improvement of business processes, and its business services model optimizes employee efficiencies to benefit customers and billing partners. A robust watershed management plan supports resource management through strategic planning and partnership efforts.