Minneapolis Water Treatment and Distribution Services
2014 Sustainable Water Utility Management Award
In its strategic business plan, Minneapolis Water Treatment and Distribution Services leverages applicable tenets of the city’s plan for sustainable growth. It has incorporated finance procedures that allow for long-term financial viability and added a fixed rate to help stabilize revenues from fluctuations in water sales due to weather and declining trends in customer usage. The utility implements environmental stewardship initiatives including sustainable design in capital projects, optimized energy use, promotion of water conservation and facilitating service line repairs, fuel efficient vehicles, collaboration on source water protection, supporting urban farms and community gardens, promoting the value of drinking water and reducing the demand for disposable bottles.
Orange Water and Sewer Authority
2014 Sustainable Water Utility Management Award
Orange Water and Sewer Authority’s aggressive water conservation program and implementation of a reclaimed water system have reduced the community’s risk of droughts, enabled the utility to defer expensive capacity expansion projects, improved its water supply resiliency and redundancy, and reduced its energy use and carbon footprint. Efficiency improvements have been implemented throughout the organization following treatment process optimization studies, business process reviews and deployment of information technology solutions. A comprehensive asset management program provides timely, accurate information on which to base important investment decisions, and comprehensive watershed management plans protect the quality of water supplies.
Spartanburg Water
2014 Sustainable Water Utility Management Award
Spartanburg Water operates as an enterprise fund, financed and operated in a manner similar to private business enterprises, where the intent of the governing body is that the cost (expenses, including depreciation) of providing goods or services to the general public on a continuing basis be financed or recovered primarily through user charges. This highly sustainable business model utilizes both long-term planning for future needs and a five-year financial plan to assure that daily operational needs and required debt service are met, assets are properly managed and maintained, and infrastructure growth/replacement needs are considered.
Tualatin Valley Water District
2014 Sustainable Water Utility Management Award
At Tualatin Valley Water District, triple bottom line thinking permeates everything from procurement of office products to development of a new regional water supply system. This stewardship ethic is embodied in the Ridgewood View Reservoir and Pump Station and the Willamette Water Supply Program where the District uses the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure’s Envision™ Sustainability Rating System to guide staff, consultants and partners in integrating social, environmental and economic considerations into the design and achievement of the projects. In addition, solar production at the utility’s headquarters facility has resulted in roughly 510,000 kWh of renewable energy production, about 19 percent of energy used at the site.