Award Winners
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.
Central Arkansas Water
2015 Sustainable Water Utility Management Award
Sustainable utility water management is integral to Central Arkansas Water. The utility has assured rate stability and established dedicated funds for watershed protection. Implementation of a comprehensive watershed management plan involved close collaboration with private property owners and governmental partners and assures a high-quality drinking water supply. The utility also quantified its pipeline replacement needs, increased energy efficiency, implemented recycling programs and removed hazardous materials from sensitive areas.
Charlotte Water
2015 Sustainable Water Utility Management Award
An early managed competition leader, Charlotte Water transitioned into continuous improvement through benchmarking, re-engineering and embracing quality programs.The utility holds corporate ISO environmental and quality certifications, participates in Partnership for Safe Water and has strong, active stakeholder partnerships. Triple A bond ratings by the three major rating agencies underscore the utility’s strength.Revenue stability and predictability, fairness to customers and full cost recovery are the focus of a 10-year financial planning horizon, and increases in the fixed portion of rates improve sustainability.
Chesterfield County Utilities Department
2015 Sustainable Water Utility Management Award
Chesterfield County Utilities Department’s annual performance plan tracks over 100 annual and historic performance measures from virtually every work center. The Department improves its strong financial position through competitive rates that adequately recover costs, while providing for reserves and future needs, thereby maintaining a Triple AAA bond rating and ensuring future stability. Striving to be efficient and environmentally conscious in all aspects of operations, the Department has implemented process improvement initiatives including reducing natural gas consumption, potable water usage and energy/chemical consumption.
Contra Costa Water District
2015 Sustainable Water Utility Management Award
Contra Costa Water District keeps local watersheds ecologically healthy, which ensures access to untreated water of high quality to process through its state-of-the-art water treatment plants, optimizing chemical and energy use. Significant investments in water use efficiency projects have helped reduce total water use by over 30 percent. The District is balancing operating expenditures, revenues and debt service, investing in infrastructure assets, controlling operations and maintenance expenditures and increasing water quality and customer service levels.
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.
Fort Collins Utilities
2015 Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance
Fort Collins Utilities has put in place numerous processes for exceptional utility performance, starting with ISO Certification for Environmental Management for its water treatment facility. The water system benefits from a robust strategic financial planning process, an asset management program that includes infrastructure modeling and capital improvement planning, and use of a continuous improvement cycle. Customer satisfaction and stakeholder understanding efforts garner high grades. An extensive water rights portfolio ensures access to water in even the driest years and a rigorous testing program assures high-quality finished water.
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.
Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department
2015 Sustainable Water Utility Management Award
Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department’s Water Use Efficiency Program improves management of traditional water supplies, encourages development of alternative water supplies and improves water use efficiency. The Department has an aggressive supply-side management water loss reduction program, including improvements in the distribution system, an aggressive leak detection program and advanced meter infrastructure. Its methane sequestration project increases self-generated electricity. An asset management system minimizes the total life cycle cost of its capital assets and a Capital Improvement Plan provides long-term funding to complete improvements. Its employee recognition program has produced more than $38 million in savings.
Prince William County Service Authority
2015 Sustainable Water Utility Management Award
Sustainability is reflected in Prince William County Service Authority’s strategic planning, business practices and educational outreach efforts. From pricing models and fee structures to customer engagement platforms, the Authority promotes wise use of water while securing its financial future with sound fiscal management. With environmentally friendly technologies and proactive maintenance, the Authority meets stringent regulatory requirements. It protects source waters and public health through meticulous planning, an exemplary workforce and agile responsiveness to its customers.
Riverside Public Utilities Department
2015 Sustainable Water Utility Management Award
Guided by a utility roadmap to the future, Riverside Public Utilities Department (RPU) has developed projects, such as its Solar Well Project, that help decrease its reliance on non-renewable resources. Other projects, like the North Riverside Aquifer Storage and Recovery Project, protect and improve local groundwater supplies. RPU serves as an integral part of its community through active participation in conservation, outreach and sustainable practices that engender community and stakeholder engagement and socially responsible initiatives.