On World Water Day, March 22, the White House recognized the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), along with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for contributions to the development of two tools that support America's sustainable and secure water future: the Water Resources Dashboard and the update to the Attributes of Effective Utility Management (EUM) and Keys to Management Success framework. The recognition was part of the White House Water Summit, an event held to raise awareness of water issues in the United States and discuss potential solutions and innovations for building a secure water future for all.
The Water Resources Dashboard is a one-stop-shop where water utilities can access decision-relevant climate and weather data and forecasts. AMWA worked with NOAA and its partners over 18 months to identify the most needed datasets. NOAA then used that information to build a dashboard that will help water utility managers build resilience to extreme precipitation events.
"The NOAA Dashboard can be a very helpful tool, allowing water utilities to access available climate and weather data all from one weblink," said AMWA CEO Diane VanDe Hei. "AMWA appreciates how NOAA tailored the dashboard based on feedback from our members."
The update of the Attributes of Effective Utility Management (EUM) and Keys to Management Success was undertaken to identify key areas of change and innovation in the water sector, such as accelerated adoption of automated and "smart" systems and data integration, growing climate variability and extremes, increased focus on resource recovery, and greater consideration of stormwater and watershed management. The EUM framework was updated by a panel of water utility executives and state water regulators commissioned by EPA, AMWA and other water sector groups.
"EUM is the gold standard for water utility management," said VanDe Hei. "AMWA is committed to promoting nationwide adoption of the new EUM and updating our awards program based on the revised framework to help ensure our members are managing their water systems on the cutting edge of technology and innovation to reliably provide safe, clean water to customers across the country."
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The Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies is an organization of the largest publicly owned drinking water suppliers in the United States.
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