Pittsburgh, Veolia Water Extend Partnership Agreement

The Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority (PWSA) Board of Directors unanimously extended a partnership with Veolia Water to continue providing interim executive management services through December 2014. The 18-month extension builds on the successes and momentum established during the initial term of the contract and supports the board's goal to become the regionally recognized expert on water quality, utility management and stakeholder responsiveness.

During the partnership's first year, a team of water and wastewater experts from Veolia helped PWSA improve the utility's customer service and performance levels by conducting in-depth diagnostics of current operations, developing specific recommendations for improvement, and supporting PWSA employees in implementing initiatives aimed at reaching new performance metrics. The analysis and resulting operational changes helped PWSA reduce its cost of operations and increase the utility's revenue by, among other things, re-securing a large commercial customer. The total impact of these changes is nearly $2.4 million annually. The partnership also reduced customer hold times by 50% and enabled the authority to approve an annual budget without the need for a water rate increase.

As part of the initial review of utility operations, Veolia Water Executive Jim Good led PWSA as interim executive director and will continue to do so, supported by PWSA managers and employees, along with Veolia Water specialists who will share industry best practices and mentor PWSA staff. The Veolia team will continue working collaboratively with PWSA employees and be accountable to the Board of Directors. A joint steering committee will establish new key performance indicators (KPIs) and oversee the implementation of agreed upon initiatives to continue service improvements as well as items that will provide services more efficiently or enhance revenues.

The partnership is part of Veolia Water's Peer Performance Solutions model, enabling municipal water utilities to benchmark against other leading utilities while preserving public governance and a public workforce that benefits from specialized private-sector expertise. Veolia Water will continue to apply best practices developed through its management of more than 8,500 water and wastewater facilities and systems around the world.

Source: Veolia Water North America