WASHINGTON — The National Association of Water Companies’ (NAWC) 2009 Management Innovation Awards were presented by Donald L. Correll, president and chief executive officer of American Water and immediate past president of the NAWC Board of Directors at the 5th National Drinking Water Symposium on Oct. 13. These annual awards recognize new and innovative programs that promote better water service, wider recognition of the industry and improved utility management.

First prize went to United Water for its eBilling PUSH project; second prize was awarded to a subsidiary of American Water, Arizona American Water, for significantly reducing water consumption at its Northwest Valley Regional Water Reclamation Facility; and Suburban Water Systems, a subsidiary of SouthWest Water Company, was recognized with a third prize for its Suburban Residential Price Signal Index.

“United Water, American Water and Suburban Water Systems exemplify the high level of commitment our industry has to our customers and to the communities in which we do business,” said Michael Deane, executive director of the NAWC.  “NAWC members have pioneered numerous environmental sustainability practices and always strive to practice what they preach when it comes to water conservation. The winning management innovation programs of these three companies represent the best of the best in those areas.”

United Water eBilling PUSH Project

United Water sends almost 5 million bills for water and/or sewage services annually. Traditionally, paper bills were sent to customers, creating over 119.5 tons of paper using over 1.9 million gallons of water and emitting approximately 605,000 pounds of greenhouse gases and representing a significant opportunity to enhance United Water’s sustainability efforts while increasing efficiency and reducing costs associated with paper billing. However, United Water’s research showed that companies introducing traditional eBilling services —which essentially let customers know via email that their bill is ready for viewing — see very low adoption rates of only 5 percent in 3 years. Therefore, the company identified an eBilling PUSH solution to reduce United Water’s dependency on paper billing. A critical differentiator in the PUSH technology is that the entire eBill is delivered directly into the consumer’s inbox as an encrypted offline attachment, meaning 1) no username and password to remember; and 2) no need to access the internet to view the bill. Because this eBilling solution is integrated with United Water’s electronic payment vendor, it is able to offer a one-click payment option directly from within the eBill itself, enabling the consumer to make a payment without ever having to register or visit a Web site. With its many benefits, United Water looks to its eBilling PUSH solution to achieve high adoption rates and help the company meet its overall objective of reducing the environmental impact of its operations.

Average user rating

   (0 vote)