Transcript Past, Present and Future OF Effective Utility Management

NJ AEA Conference
January 16, 2013
Jim Horne, U.S. EPA
EPA’s Sustainability Policy: The 3 Dimensions
of Water Sector Sustainability
The “Current State”
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Water/wastewater utilities are
facing unprecedented challenges
– aging infrastructure and workforce
– continuing regulatory challenges
– unclear prospects for future federal
funding
– increasing customer and
community demands for service
– short-term perspective of elected
officials
– And of course, Climate!
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Economic downturn has
exacerbated these challenges
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Greater focus on day-to-day; less
on innovation and sustainability
EUM
A Water Sector Industry Effort
Effective Utility Management (EUM)
Endorsed by the EPA and six water sector
industry collaborating organizations
EUM – Historical Perspective
 The Beginning 2007-2008
 Why and How
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Something to bring other utility management initiatives
together
Provide a set of outcomes (Attributes) for utilities to strive
for—regardless of size
In other words a “common management framework”
 Not intended to be a replacement for other programs
 Assembled by utilities—for utilities
 EPA and Associations were the enablers and supporters
Attributes of Effectively Managed
Utilities—the 360 degree look
Effective Utility Management Primer
June 2008
“Softer” Attributes are Also Critical
 Stakeholder Understanding and Support
-- critical for “building your case”
 Employee Leadership and Development
-- right people, right skills, right vision
-- more than technical skills needed
 Community Sustainability
-- aligning your priorities with other community goals
-- great context for addressing climate and resiliency
challenges
What Else is Going On?
 WaterRF EUM Benchmarking Tool
 EPA Planning for Sustainability Handbook
 Effective Practices “Roadmap” (conventional and emergent models)
 The Utility of the Future
 Energy Management
-- EPA Guidebook and Workshops
-- WEF Energy Roadmap
 Climate Ready Water Utilities (CRWU)
WaterRF EUM Benchmarking Tool
 WaterRF is developing (CH2M Hill is the PI)
 Builds directly from the EUM primer, but is more
detailed
 Will allow utilities to benchmark internally or with
others based on the EUM Attributes, specific
practices, and associated metrics
 Tool will be beta tested by approx. 25 utilities early
next year and completed in late 2013
Planning for Sustainability
Handbook
 Effective planning is critical to EUM
and long-term sustainability
 EPA has developed a Handbook
showing how to build sustainability
into key phases of planning
 Built around 4 Core Elements
-- Goal setting with other
community stakeholders
-- Objectives and Strategies
-- Alternatives Analysis
-- Financial Strategies
• Webinar series now underway
Importance of Effective Practices
 Adoption of effective practices is also a foundation of EUM
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and sustainability
They make things real!
EPA recently hosted meeting with leading utilities to ask
“What’s next and how can we collaborate going forward?”
Group focused on the importance of utility management
practices under two models
-- Conventional model of utility management (current
state for most)
-- Emergent model (where industry should be heading)
Now beginning to develop a roadmap to help utilities
adopt leading practices using both models
Conventional and Emergent
Utility Management Models
Conventional
Emergent
 Cost effective response to
 Expanded view of services
regulatory requirement
 Providing a single service—safe
drinking water/treated WW
 Community engagement
focused on direct impacts
 rate increases, odor,
construction
 Operational strategies focused
on areas of direct control
(collection to discharge)
 Short-term horizons for
infrastructure ROI (5-10 years)
(resource recovery, total water
management)
 Leadership role in the
community to spur economic
development
 Operational strategies that
depend on external parties
-- GI, energy production,
trading
 Extended time horizons for
infrastructure ROI
The Water Resource Utility of the
Future: Blueprint for Action
 Effort being led by NACWA, WEF, and WERF
 Blueprint will address key issues like:
-- What is the Utility of the Future?
-- What’s the business case needed to move forward?
-- What’s missing and what has to change? (barriers,
incentives, legislation, practices, etc.)
• Timing: Internal draft now under review
• Final Paper: late January/early February
Energy Management
 Critical opportunity for utilities to
move toward sustainability
 EPA is promoting energy
management through our Energy
Management Guidebook
 WEF is promoting energy
sustainability through its
Energy Roadmap
• Both efforts stress the
importance of strategic
planning, making the right
choices, and moving forward
WEF Energy Roadmap
 Purpose is to help WW
utilities improve energy
efficiency and move toward
“zero net” energy
 Organized around six
topics—Strategic
Management, Organizational
Culture, Communications
and Outreach, Demand Side
Management, Energy
Generation, Innovating for
the Future
 Describes steps and practices
to get there, regardless of
your starting point
Climate Ready Water Utilities
Adaptive
Response
Framework
Explore
Elements of
Climate
Readiness
Adaptation
Strategies
Guide
Learn
Climate and
Adaptation
Basics
Toolbox
Research and
Gather
Information
Extreme
Events
Workshop
Planner
Collaborate
with
Partners
Climate Resilience
Evaluation and
Awareness Tool
Assess Risks
and Evaluate
Opportunities
Climate Ready Water Utilities
Webinar Training Series
Webinar Topic
Date
Climate Ready Water Utilities 101
January 23th
Climate Change and the Water Sector
February 13th
Climate Resilience Evaluation and
Awareness Tool (CREAT)
February 27th
Extreme Events Workshop Planner
March 6th
Adaptation Strategies Guide
March 13th
Register at www.epa.gov/climatereadyutilities.
Email [email protected] with questions
Current State and Relevance of
EUM
 Very good—still strongly supported by original partners
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and used by a growing number of utilities
Is becoming a well accepted framework for improving
performance
Embedded in national conferences (WEFTEC, ACE, UMC)
EUM provides a solid foundation for assessing and
improving—under either the “conventional” or “emergent”
models
Also supports adaptive management as new challenges
arise—e.g. Utility of the Future
So, you bet its still relevant-- now more than ever!
Bringing Things Full Circle
 Public Trust and transparency is the “coin of the realm” for
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utilities
More important than ever before in the face of new challenges
like climate, etc.
Sustainable water utilities are essential to a sustainable
community
The latter can’t happen without the former
Neither can exist without building strong and lasting public
trust
Effective and sustainable management is what gets you there!
THANK YOU!
[email protected]
(202) 564-0571
http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/sustain/index
.cfm