2016 NAWC Management. Innovation Awards CATALOG OF ENTRIES CATALOG OF ENTRIES

Transcription

1 CATALOG OF ENTRIES 2016 NAWC Management Innovation Awards Recognizing the ideas and companies shaping the future of water management NAWC Management Innovation Awards 1

2 CATALOG ABOUT OF ENTRIES NAWC Every day, private water companies help provide essential water and wastewater services to nearly 73 million people in the United States. That s almost one quarter of our nation s population. The National Association of Water Companies (NAWC) is the voice of the private water industry the organization exclusively representing this group of quality service providers, innovation drivers and responsible partners. We are an association defined by our members and by working together we can leverage our strengths to more effectively address the opportunities and challenges facing our nation. WE SERVE as a credible resource and qualified professional partner for anyone who cares about safe and high-quality water. WE ENGAGE with municipal leaders and the concerned citizens they represent, as well as educators, reporters, legislators, regulators and other water industry experts. We help shed light on all water-related issues, including the issues that often go unseen. WE DO our best for our members and the people, communities and businesses they serve. Our nation is facing serious challenges, and NAWC members are providing powerful solutions. We re moving water forward. We invite you to join us NAWC Management Innovation Awards 2

3 CATALOG ABOUT THE OF AWARDS ENTRIES For nearly 40 years, the NAWC Management Innovation Awards competition has been recognizing NAWC members for their groundbreaking, industry-changing ideas. Today s innovation is tomorrow s industry standard, and our members are moving water forward through their leadership and work at the forefront of the water industry. The 2016 Management Innovation Awards competition attracted entries from across the nation that were as diverse as they were dynamic. These entries truly reflect the outside-the-box thinking of the private water industry and the solutions created to benefit the customers and communities they serve. Entries submitted for the 2016 awards program represented a wide range of innovations, including conservation efforts, management plans, technological advancements and community support initiatives, among others. We applaud all of these efforts and the dedicated professionals who are working to keep moving water forward through innovation. The 2016 winner was chosen by a panel of water industry professionals with a range of expertise Judges Matt Klein President of North Carolina & Tennessee Utilities, Inc. Bernadette M. Sohler Vice President Corporate Affairs Middlesex Water Company Rebecca Stenholm Director, Public & Government Affairs EPCOR Water (USA) Inc. John Tang Vice President of Government Relations and Corporate Communication San Jose Water Company Judging Criteria Entries were judged on the following criteria: Degree of innovation Short- and long-term benefits to the company Value to water utility industry The idea s ability to be duplicated at other companies Presentation quality We thank all member companies and their professionals for proudly sharing their ideas with fellow members. By participating in our annual competition, you are giving others the opportunity to learn from your example NAWC Management Innovation Awards 3

4 CATALOG TABLE OF OF CONTENTS ENTRIES WINNER GRAND PRIZE WINNER - GOLDEN STATE WATER COMPANY Collaborative Conservation Education Campaign ENTRIES SUEZ Aquadvanced-Energy-Water Network Optimization ILLINOIS AMERICAN WATER Best Practice Spotlight Program MISSOURI AMERICAN WATER Safety Culture Council EPCOR WATER USA EPCOR Enters into Innovative Maricopa Water District Partnership SUEZ AMI in Bayonne NAWC Management Innovation Awards 4

5 CATALOG OF WINNER ENTRIES GRAND PRIZE WINNER - GOLDEN STATE WATER COMPANY Collaborative Conservation Education Campaign Brief description of innovation: In response to California s ongoing drought emergency, Golden State Water Company (Golden State Water) developed an extensive Collaborative Conservation Education Campaign to adjust its communications approach and better engage with the 1 million customers served about the importance of using water responsibly and reducing usage to preserve available supplies. Californians have been inundated with information about the drought and conservation for more than four years, and drought fatigue has set in. Golden State Water faces the challenge of keeping customers engaged and committed to continue meeting all local and statewide conservation targets. The Collaborative Conservation Education Campaign was developed to compliment the company s extensive conservation communications and create an open dialog among customers to share their conservation achievements and ideas with their communities. The campaign has made a significant impact, thanks in part to the below programs designed to get customers talking with each other about conservation: Golden Lawn Contest: Created to educate Golden State Water s customers about California s drought emergency, and to influence their water-use behavior by celebrating those who stopped outdoor irrigation and let their lawns go gold. Recognizing the criticism that customers often encounter from neighbors and their communities when they let their green lawns go gold, the goal was to acknowledge and reward customers for their conservation actions. The contest was promoted primarily through the company s website, Twitter and customer channels, and it was fueled by significant media coverage in each local market. #H20 Makeover Contest: Designed to promote conservation by highlighting customers water-saving ideas, the contest asked customers to share creative conservation tips with each other through social media and the company s website. The contest was promoted heavily and received significant media coverage. Golden State Water also developed a creative informational video used to invite customers to share their tips and enter to win. The winning tip was selected by customers, and the grand prize was a free indoor conservation makeover (new water-saving toilets, showerheads and fixtures provided and installed by Golden State Water) to improve the water-use efficiency inside the winner s home. California-Friendly Garden Community Page: Golden State Water created a website page to encourage customers within our 75 communities to share their drought-tolerant gardening tips and designs with each other. As one feature, customers are invited to submit before and after photos of their new drought-tolerant landscapes to show that drought-tolerant doesn t have to mean boring. The web page also educates customers regarding the types of drought-tolerant plants that can thrive in their specific climate zones NAWC Management Innovation Awards 5

6 Drought Video: Golden State Water developed a drought video to share information about California s drought emergency and tips to help customers improve water-use efficiency at their homes and businesses. The video features customers sharing their conservation strategies and information about how and why they converted their lawns to drought-tolerant landscapes The Collaborative Conservation Education Campaign has made a significant impact to get Golden State Water customers excited about conserving. Golden State Water has seen water-usage drastically decrease, while also meeting state-mandated conservation targets in all of the communities served. In addition, these components encouraged customers to re-engage with the drought, offering a new perspective on conservation practices and strengthened relationships within each of the communities. As the drought continues to be a topic of discussion for many Californian s, water providers across the state are encouraged to implement similar campaigns encouraging customers to collaborate and re-engage with a communal conservation approach. CA Friendly Garden Community Page Screenshot: Here is a screenshot of the California-Friendly Garden Community Page, which provides an outlet for customers to share drought-tolerant gardening tips and designs with each other. CA Friendly Garden Community Page: Our California-Friendly Garden Community Page includes a helpful chart of suggested droughttolerant plants according to California s gardening zones NAWC Management Innovation Awards 6

7 Drought Video Screenshot: Here is a screenshot of the informational drought video with helpful tips for customers to improve water-use-efficiency. Golden Lawn Contest Winners Sharegraphic 1: Visually appealing sharegraphics for the Golden Lawn Contest sparked engagement with customers on Twitter. Golden Lawn Contest Sharegraphic Honorable Mention: Honorable mention submissions for the Golden Lawn contest. Golden Lawn Contest Sharegraphic: This is one of the sharegraphics used to promote the Golden Lawn Contest. Go Gold! #H2OMakeover Contest: This sharegraphic was used on the website and companywide customer to promote the #H2OMakeover Contest. #H2OMakeover Video Screenshot: This video was designed to promote engagement for the #H2OMakeover Contest when it was shared in a customer and on Twitter NAWC Management Innovation Awards 7

8 ENTRY - SUEZ Aquadvanced-Energy-Water Network Optimization Aquadvanced Energy is a machine intelligence system developed by SUEZ to optimize energy usage and pump operation for distributed water production systems. For the 225,000 residents served by SUEZ operations in Idaho the system will continuously select efficient pump combinations and runtimes to reduce energy usage 6-10%. Energy Manager Elizabeth Keddy. Aquadvanced energy operations room 2016 NAWC Management Innovation Awards 8

9 ENTRY - ILLINOIS AMERICAN WATER Best Practice Spotlight Program Summary of Challenge & Solution Providing water service comes with a responsibility to our customers, stakeholders and team members that not only safe drinking water service is provided daily, but that we operate as efficiently as possible and continue to invest in critical infrastructure. We know for every $1 we save in operating and maintenance costs, we can invest $7 in critical investment needs. At Illinois American Water between $70 and $100 million is invested each year to improve our water and wastewater systems, ensuring drinking water, public health and fire protection. Therefore, we owe it the 1.2 million people we serve to do everything we can, within reason, to cut costs so we can meet the national need to upgrade our systems. We don t take a top-down only approach when it comes to making needed changes; we knowsome of the best ideas come from those in the field in the 128 communities we serve - and we value that feedback. Every member of our team is encouraged to implement innovative ideas that create operational efficiency, improve safety and enhance communication. That being said,those ideas need to be shared across the entire system to garner the largest impact. Information sharing can be challenging when communicating to approximately 450 employees located across the state in 13 unique service areas - this is why we created the Best Practice Spotlight program. Best Practice Spotlight Through the Best Practice Spotlight program, we feature and share one best practice a month across the state. Information is shared through already in-place communication pieces - SplashPoints and SplashTV. Using current tools prevents the need to create another source of information and adds value to communications already used in the field. It is also important tobe cognizant of the number of s and communications already received by our employees on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. SplashPoints is a bi-weekly internal newsletter. Every edition is sent electronically, featured on the company s internal website and shared during weekly employee meetings NAWC Management Innovation Awards 9

10 SplashTV is an electronic format that scrolls information across TV s in every operating district. TV screens are visible in lunch rooms and other common areas. The Best Practices Spotlight program was launched in January The first best practice spotlighted was Streamline filter backwashing in East St. Louis. Employee efforts resulted in increased filter run times. This decreased the need to backwash, reducing backwash water usage by about one million gallons per day. This reduction in backwash water shows an immediate savings on chemical usage but also has a domino effect by saving on energy cost, the wear on pumping equipment, valves, actuators etc., which will be realized over time. The next best practice featured was GIS mapping to reduce miles driven for hydrant maintenance and key valve inspections. The best practice saved within three service districts over 8,000 miles. It has since been implemented in 50 percent of our service areas and will be implemented across the entire state. By saving miles traveled Illinois American Water is able to redistribute resources for other projects and work. The company fleet vehicles also endure less wear and tear. Also by using the vehicles less, there is less impact to the environment and a decreased risk in related safety hazards NAWC Management Innovation Awards 10

11 CATALOG OF ENTRIES 2016 NAWC Management Innovation Awards 11

12 Other Best Practice Spotlight topics featured to date include: Improving customer service handling of customer low-pressure calls. Materials were provided to call handlers to help customers check their water softener, which is a common reason for low pressure calls. The communications help decrease service visits and increase customer satisfaction. As a result of this best practice, information was also added to the company website for customers looking for guidance online. Construction of an elevated water tank using a composite style tank rather than a steel tank. This reduced cost because the tank was built mostly at ground level rather than up at the top of the shaft. Concrete was also less expensive than steel. Switching from two-person handheld valve turners to truck and trailer-mounted valve turners. The team also incorporated power washer and vac tanks to simplifying boxes cleaning. Use of a pneumatic impact wrench and steel extension/adaptor to complete hydrant seal removals. This best practice reduced manpower hours, potential injuries and the time hydrants are out of service. Conducting safety walk-throughs to identify possible office safety hazards and fix them immediately, helping to decreased injury and ensure offices are not overlooked for safetyopportunities. Below is the safety audit checklist created to help all employees conduct office walk-throughs and decrease safety hazards NAWC Management Innovation Awards 12

13 Benefits While the topics featured in our Best Practice Spotlight are all innovative on their own; they would not be as effective without the Best Practice Spotlight program. By consistently communicating best practices implemented by our employees across all service areas and functions, we are creating a culture of continuous improvement, employee empowerment and employee recognition. We have also been successful in decreasing operating costs and safety hazards while improving efficiency and customer satisfaction. Everything we do centers around our customers! The ability to invest in much needed capital investment for improved service and address customer satisfaction is invaluable. Contact Information Mike Smyth Vice President of Operations Illinois American Water 100 North Water Works Drive Belleville, IL NAWC Management Innovation Awards 13

14 ENTRY - MISSOURI AMERICAN WATER Safety Culture Council In addition to the existing Safety Committees, a council was established with a crossfunctional group of employees from across the state to assist in improving the safety culture at the Company. This council meets at different districts each month to discuss safety topics, methods for improvement, how to better communicate change and to perform a safety walk-through inspection. Successes to date for this group (in its 3rd year) are pending legislation to expand the Move Over Law to Utility workers, Traffic control and Field Work Zone setup books distributed to crews, improved safety communicatioon to employees via Splash Points and Splash TV and developed an improved training program for new employees. SCC 2016 Group with hash tag signs Gretchen B. with hash tag sign Victor W. with hash tag sign 2016 NAWC Management Innovation Awards 14

15 ENTRY - EPCOR WATER USA EPCOR Enters into Innovative Maricopa Water District Partnership Groundwater in Arizona is a valuable, non-renewable resource, and will only become more critical as metropolitan areas continue to grow in the desert. Innovation and openness to change are necessary skills for today's water-industry leaders in Arizona. A Problem... and a Solution Seven years ago, EPCOR Vice President of Operations Troy Day saw a challenge as well as an opportunity for EPCOR's West Valley Agua Fria Water District: Was there a way to retain Agua Fria's plentiful and precious groundwater reserves, preserve quality for a growing customer base, secure a long-term supply solution during a drought, and also ensure revenue? On Nov. 1, 2015, he found the answer. EPCOR and the Maricopa Water District (MWD) entered an exclusive, 50-year water-supply agreement that ensures the stability of the Agua Fria district and enables the company to continue to grow in the West Valley without depleting groundwater resources. A first-of-its-kind partnership, EPCOR Water will be able to purchase up to billion gallons (18,000 acre-feet) annually of surface water from MWD for use in areas of the Aqua Fria district that fall within MWD boundaries. The agreement covers an area roughly 60 square miles populated by approximately 115,000 people. An Innovation for Water Providers The MWD agreement is a game-changer: It shifts water from agriculture to residential and commercial uses, allowing Phoenix s West Valley to grow in a sustainable way. Through the agreement, Day solved multiple challenges at once he preserved groundwater supply, ensured water quality, maneuvered past drought concerns, and found a new path for continuing growth. Now, instead of being restricted to a limited Colorado River supply and limited groundwater, EPCOR is in a position to drive its growth in Agua Fria. Agua Fria District Background EPCOR's Agua Fria water district, located in the heart of the western area of metropolitan Phoenix, serves more than 42,000 individual service connections. It is the district with the company s highest level of organic growth, fueled by new residential and commercial development. In a single year, EPCOR delivers more than 5 billion gallons of water just to the Agua Fria district. The Agua Fria district is in the center of a vast growth corridor where available water resources are tapped by more than 17 different water providers. Agua Fria is supplied with groundwater as well as surface water from the Colorado River, delivered via the Central Arizona Project canal. With the effects of a lingering drought increasing potential of future shortages being called on allocations from the Colorado River, simply continuing to add connections and manage existing water resources wasn't a viable solution. Day saw an opportunity to become a thought-leader in the industry and ensure the long-term health and sustainability of EPCOR s water portfolio. Day also saw a strategic opportunity to secure supply something that could be a financial challenge in 10 or 20 years while also preserving EPCOR's claim to groundwater within the Agua Fria district. EPCOR gains as many as 200 new connections each month in Agua Fria, and that number continues to grow as 2016 NAWC Management Innovation Awards 15

16 more communities are constructed. Seeing the need and opportunity Day leveraged EPCOR's stellar relationships in Arizona, as well as his relationships in the industry, to work with the MWD on an unconventional agreement. Benefits for Both Community and Company EPCOR and MWD took on a revolutionary concept creating a public-private water agreement that protects EPCOR s water resources and its customers for the long-term. Day's team also sought to keep the agreement for 50 years, a time period during which water in Arizona will become only more valuable and desirable. In addition to being a wise investment for EPCOR's customers, the MWD partnership is also cost-effective. Treating and delivering surface water is far less expensive than developing new groundwater supplies in an area with water quality challenges. Additionally, the surface water purchased from MWD (which is water from the Agua Fria River), will eventually keep EPCOR's White Tanks Regional Treatment Plant operating year-round, even during annual maintenance periods. Thanks to this novel agreement with MWD, EPCOR is well positioned for long-term growth and success in Agua Fria. Valuable groundwater supplies can be protected, customer satisfaction can remain high, and water-management through the drought can be mitigated. EPCOR delivers more than 5 billions of gallons each year to customers in the Agua Fria water district NAWC Management Innovation Awards 16

17 Troy Day, center, is pictured with EPCOR Operations and Engineering colleagues at a groundbreaking event. The map indicates the EPCOR service area for the Agua Fria District, as well as the service area that falls within MWD lands. a groundbreaking event NAWC Management Innovation Awards 17

18 ENTRY - SUEZ AMI in Bayonne n 2012, SUEZ formed a partnership with Kohlberg Kravis and Roberts (KKR) and the City of Bayonne in The 40 year contract includes the operations, maintenance and management of the water and wastewater system including management of a $2.5 M capital improvement plan program, customer service, billing and collection, payment processing and emergency services A main focus is the installation of 11,000 Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI),state of the art integrated system of smart meters, communication networks and data management that allows measurement and collection of detailed, time-based information. Customers have benefited from aggressive detection and notification of water leaks resulting in: Recognition that 10%+ of the customer base had significant leaks 1,100+ leak notifications sent (letters, calls, s) consumption analyzed for over 1,000 meters (several months before and after notification) Consumption decreased by 38% for those analyzed Total system demand decreased by 4.4% SUEZ begins 40 year contract to operate and maintain water and wastewater systems in Bayonne, NJ. AMI wireless technology installed for over 11,000 endpoints in Bayonne, NJ NAWC Management Innovation Awards 18

19 2001 L Street NW Suite 850 Washington DC NAWC Management Innovation Awards 19