Vision 2020: Atlanta Watershed Management’s Roadmap to Become a Leading Public Utility

The water system serving Atlanta dates back to 1875; however, the Department of Watershed Management, as it exists today, is a young 14 years old. The Department was largely established to manage the responsibilities of the sewer consent decrees; the Agency was primarily staffed by consultants. Following a privatization attempt of the water operations, the City combined the water and wastewater operations in 2003 as a means of improving customer service and addressing billing issues. Over the course of the last 14 years, the Department has fulfilled the compliance obligations of the CSO Consent Decree, increased staffing with municipal employees, and grown from roughly $240M to over $600M in annual water and sewer revenue to support an annual operating budget of $596M, a 5-YR capital program of $1.2B and management of close to $5B in assets.Though the City of Atlanta invested close to $2B in consent decree related work from roughly 2000 to 2014, the water and wastewater facilities and the distribution system received little to no investment. The Department has experienced difficulty filling critical positions resulting in a persistent 12% vacancy rate. In addition, the Department has struggled with negative perceptions as it relates to fulfilling customer service requests, estimated bills, water loss and delivery of the capital improvement plan.The start of a new administration for the Department of Watershed Management in June of 2016 provided an opportunity to assess these concerns and determine a path forward. For the first time in the history of the agency, the Department of Watershed Management will have a 3-year strategic plan that will serve as a roadmap to achieve our vision of becoming a leading public water utility in innovation, service and value.To get there we’re prioritizing the allocation of our resources, and becoming more disciplined and strategic in our decision making. No longer are we planning to plan; we’re focused on execution of programs and initiatives that are shaping the future of our utility. Eight strategic priorities have been established: Service Delivery, Infrastructure Reliability, Workforce Development, Operational Efficiency, Financial Resilience, Compliance, Safety and Digital Transformation. These priorities are expressed as SMART goals with value outcomes and key performance indicators.This paper will describe the strategic planning process which started with a SWOT exercise and engagement of over 150 employees from across the Department. It will also review the elements of the strategic plan including the vision, mission, core values, goals and objectives, key performance indicators and major programs and initiatives that drive capital investment and achievement of specified outcomes including:The Water Supply Program - DMW’s $350M investment in the resilience of the City’s water system, taking emergency reserves from 3 to 30 days or more, and protecting $100M a day in economic output.The Urban Waters Federal Partnership - Focused on the Proctor Creek Watershed; the only watershed completely within the City of Atlanta, and designated one of 19 urban waters in the Country. The City in partnership with the Army Corps of engineers is developing an integrated plan and implementation approach that leverages partnerships with federal agencies and the private sector to bridge the gap between available public dollars and the funding needed to restore the watershed.Clean Water Atlanta - The Consent Decree Program focused on continued improvement of Atlanta’s sewer infrastructure with focus on executing an integrated planning approach for Clean Water Act compliance.Green Infrastructure Action Plan - The GI Action Plan has established a goal to achieve a 225 million-gallon reduction in stormwater runoff annually. Focus includes development of a sustainable funding source and integration of project opportunities with external stakeholders.Better Buildings Challenge - Development of energy efficiency measures to reduce energy consumption by 20% by the year 2020.SMART H2O and Innovation Plan - As part of the City’s push to become a SMART City, DWM has established a framework to introduce smart solutions in the operations of the utility achieving the strategic priorities of improved service delivery and operational efficiency.Finally, this paper will discuss the alignment of the Department’s strategic plan with the Effective Utility Management Framework and the process established for performance and accountability to measure and track progress against the metrics of the strategic plan.