Innovating the future of water with improved infrastructure and unique funding methods

By Craig C. Hannah, P.E.
Engineering Manager, Municipal Utility Solutions Team, Johnson Controls

Water utility leaders are constantly looking for new, innovative ways to improve water efficiency, to maximize billable water and sewer revenue, to reduce their operational and maintenance expenditures, and to better serve their account holders. To achieve these goals, these leaders often desire to implement new technologies or to make improvements to their infrastructure, but financial hurdles can often get in the way. The solution? Inter-government agreements and unique funding approaches, such as Performance Contracting.

Two of my water expert colleagues from Johnson Controls, Mandy Sheposh, P.E.; Jonathan Gunn; and I recently attended the American Water Works Association’s 2019 Annual Conference & Exposition in Denver, Colorado. During the conference, we heard from utility, industry and municipality leaders about how they’re meeting those challenges through new equipment, software and metering technologies. Through unique funding vehicles, such as Performance Contracting, Johnson Controls can help finance these improvements, along with providing both the expertise and knowledge to get the job done well.

Another hot topic of discussion was the amount of data coming from Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) systems and how to manage it effectively. AMI networks can generate a tremendous amount of data. This amount of data and its complexity can seem overwhelming to many at first, but quality data analytics software, well-designed processes and procedures, and thorough staff training can greatly improve productivity and enhance operations. Customer web portals can also improve utility staff efficiency, save the account holder both water and money, and provide an overall better customer experience.

I was also humbled to receive the George Anderson Award from AWWA Metering Standards Committee. This award recognizes outstanding, long-term contributions by user members, consultants, and manufacturers to the field of water metering. Additionally, Jonathan Gunn was named as Vice Chair of the AWWA Customer Metering Practices Committee and C712 Standard Subcommittee Chair.

It was great to reconnect with other industry leaders during the AWWA ACE event in Denver, and we’re already looking forward to the KY-TN AWWA Sectional Conference in Louisville, KY, in August and the North American Water Loss Conference in Nashville, TN, in December. For those who could not attend the AWWA ACE event, learn more here or reach out to us today to see how we can help improve your infrastructure to advance your water efficiency efforts.