AWWA ACE95179

There are more than enough reasons to reinvent a water utility. The popular ones are to reduce costs, improve service, privatize, and synergize utility and municipal operations. There are not many success stories because the strategies being used have only recently been implemented or they got off to a bad start. There is a right and wrong way to reinvent a water utility. This paper discusses some of the pitfalls in reinventing a utility and offers two specific examples of real-life experiences that went wrong. In both of these situations, the main objectives were to implement quick, drastic change and to centralize services under city government. In both cases, the people involved were left out and reinvention got off to a bad start. According to the author, the right way to reinvent a water utility is to involve people responsible for implementation. The process should begin with trust building, getting employees involved up front, and giving them an opportunity to influence change. Also, valid performance benchmarks should be used for reference points and comparisons. Two other examples of successful reinventions are briefly discussed, highlighting several of the items that made these endeavors in Phoenix and Australia successful.

Product Details

Published:

01/01/1995

ISBN(s):

0898678315

Number of Pages:

12

File Size:

1 file , 450 KB